David Ramsay

Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct; we are looking at putting a cable crossing across the Twitya River. The good news is the remediation work will start next summer. The federal government has made a commitment to look at the remediation beginning next summer. That’s a period of approximately five years that they feel that they need to spend remediating the area. There are a number of waste sites, four in particular that were classified as Class 1 waste sites that would be targeted immediately for cleanup and remediation.

The beauty of that Canol Trail would certainly rival anything that Banff...

We do have the Take a Kid Trapping Program, Take a Kid Harvesting Program. It’s $125,000 a year. We also have the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program at $600,000 a year. We also have the Western Harvesters Assistance Program, or WHAP, that’s $15 million a year. We also support local wildlife committees. We also look at the Community Harvesters Assistance Program, that’s another $1 million that we put out there. We do also have a Harvesters Disaster Compensation Program that we run through the Department of ITI, all there to assist people as they pursue traditional lifestyles on the land...

Thank you. I talked of some earlier and the issue the Member brings up, of course, runs across the numerous departments with the Government of the Northwest Territories, Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment, certainly ITI. We have initiatives, the Healthy Lifestyle Initiative, that encourages people to pursue activities and certainly that’s a discussion that we have to continue to have on how to get people out on the land pursuing their traditional activities.

As we mentioned, we have programs and I’d be more than happy to talk to the Member and the other Regular...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As oil and gas regulator, I am fully committed to ensuring that NWT petroleum resources are developed responsibly in a way that creates benefits for our people and communities and protects our environment. I am guided in my decisions by a well-developed framework of legislation, regulations and policies that includes the Oil and Gas Operations Act, or OGOA, and Petroleum Resources Act. I am responsible through OGOA for ensuring human health and safety and environmental protection for all oil and gas development activities such as seismic operations, drilling of wells...

Mr. Speaker, the Member has a lifetime of experience in that area and I know the last eight years he’s spent on the leadership hike with…(inaudible)… The Member and I have had a number of discussions of how best the department and the government can use the information that people who have actually been out, walked the trail, hiked the trail and have lived that experience can provide to the government in terms of what infrastructure is needed and where it’s needed. We talked earlier about the update guidebook for hikers. These are things that are tangible and things that… We need to look to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Canol Trail remains within the authority of the federal government. It does have a number of sites along the trail that would, or could, cause issues for health and safety of persons travelling on that trail. That’s not to say we’re not continuing to move forward with discussions with the federal government on how we are going to make improvements. We have some capital dollars earmarked for improvements in the park, including cable crossing at Twitya River next year.

The Member has a very valid point about the guidebook for hikers on the Canol. It hasn’t been updated...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Members for their comments as well.

FASD affects far too many Northerners. As a government, we are committed to supporting people who live with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. We are always seeking out new and better ways to offer that support. That can include working with both Yukon and Nunavut and learning from their experiences. We certainly appreciate the commitment that led Ryan Leef, the Yukon Member of Parliament, to introduce this private member’s bill in Parliament.

People with FASD need access to services and supports when they run into trouble...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Agriculture Products Marketing Council 2013-2014 Annual Report.” Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise before the House today to inform you that Cabinet has agreed to begin developing regulations under the NWT Oil and Gas Operations Act that will set out filing requirements for projects involving hydraulic fracturing.

The Northwest Territories has significant natural resource potential that could help create prosperity, jobs and economic opportunities for Northerners and the whole country. Devolution has given the Government of the Northwest Territories new powers to manage resource development. We are committed to using those new powers to ensure that the development of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 27, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2014, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill corrects inconsistencies and errors in the statutes of the Northwest Territories. The bill deals with another matter of a minor, non-controversial and uncomplicated nature in the statutes and repeals provisions that have ceased to have effect. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.