David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d have to check with officials at the department and at ECE to find out the status of that work. Thank you.

Oil and gas projects here in the Northwest Territories will, again, continue to be subject to environmental regulation under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, which will continue to require public hearings in some circumstances. It’s simply wrong to make an assertion that because of devolution, requirements for public hearings are going to change. That’s not the case. This is going to be our best effort put forward to regulate this industry in the Northwest Territories, build a capacity here at home, and with an integrated approach to resource management in the NWT we believe we...

That would be the chief safety officer.

Yes, and I think one good news item, if I could, the number of EPOs that have issued have dropped significantly. It was 116 back in 2005-2006 and it stayed around that number. Last year we had 50, so that number of EPOs is trending in a good way.

Mr. Speaker, mineral exploration and development is a cornerstone of the NWT economy. Ensuring the continuing health of this sector is critical if we want to grow our economy and achieve our vision of a strong, prosperous Northwest Territories. Last fall this government reached a major milestone when it released the NWT Mineral Development Strategy. This is a comprehensive plan to ensure the long-term growth of a sustainable mining industry that will create jobs and economic opportunities for the people of the NWT.

As Members of this Assembly are aware, this strategy was a partnership effort...

When we first brought the Aboriginal Tourism Champions together, one of the first meetings was called Sharing Our Culture. What the Member is talking about is very important. It’s a discussion that I will commit to having with the Minister of ECE. I believe the museum is doing some work in that regard and we’ll certainly report back to the Member on what I find out from ECE. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department continues to support the advancement of arts and crafts across the Northwest Territories. We have a new program called the High Procurement Program where we can get out and get tanned hides and ensure that they get in the hands of artists and craft makers around the Northwest Territories. This is something that we feel is going to be very successful for artists and artisans across the territory to enable them to get to work with hides and fur products from across the Northwest Territories and incorporate those into their artwork. Thank you.

Thank you. It’s important that the Government of the Northwest Territories has the ability to direct where we want to go with the industry here in the Northwest Territories. On the policy side of things, it’s going to be our government that directs the policy direction. It’s going to be in the best interests of the Northwest Territories when our government is in control of the regulation on oil and gas activity here in the Northwest Territories.

The last time I checked, we do not have oil sands located in the Northwest Territories. I’m not sure what the Member is trying to get at, but let me be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in the House yesterday, our hope is to get in front of standing committee with our plans moving forward on regulating oil and gas activity here in the Northwest Territories. Our plan is to have as seamless a transition as possible. We’ve got service agreements set up. We want to ensure that we are protecting the environment and, at the same time, growing the economy here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories recognizes that our future prosperity is heavily dependent on the responsible development of our abundant natural resources. On April 1, 2014, our government will be assuming new responsibilities for the administration of public lands, resources and rights in respect of waters. This means changes for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, which will now administer mineral exploration and development activities and regulate onshore petroleum activities in the Northwest Territories, except in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

H...