Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May I please seek unanimous consent to conclude the last little bit of my statement? Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned in my Member’s statement that Choice North Farms has a pilot project ready to go. ITI has been involved in supporting that.

To the specifics of assisting this organization now in moving forward, what can the Minister tell me that he can do to help identify a location and land for this, if not under agricultural then under industrial, something outside of the town limits. What can the Minister do to help us find that land and get this pilot project off the ground? Thank you.

That’s reassuring but, of course, it can’t come quickly enough, in my opinion.

As I said in my Member’s statement today, the lack of an agricultural policy is actually a barrier to a lot of… It is an impediment and a barrier to a lot of activity that could take place in the agricultural area, whether it’s about taxation or purple gas or licensing of farm equipment. There are so many different things that our government does not have any framework or policy or legislation on.

The big one is land. In order to undertake and become involved in agriculture, we need land.

I would like to ask the...

This compost could be shipped to other communities that are unable to grow food due to soil restraints, and Choice North Farms sees this as a vital support piece for local food production in all communities.

This is a viable project and much has gone into it. I will have questions later today for the Minister of MACA and maybe the Minister of ITI, I’m not sure, but I can think of a whole lot of topics, a whole lot of titles for this Member’s statement on manure composting. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the fall of 2012, Choice North Farms of Hay River began exploring the option of developing a manure compost facility. The facility would see the composting of approximately 5,700 tonnes of manure annually. In addition to the manure composted, there would be a significant amount of paper and cardboard required to mix in the manure that’s reducing the amount being sent to our landfills each year.

After selecting the site with the assistance of AANDC, the first federal application was sent directly to Lands administration office in Yellowknife in early 2013, but the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier today about the agricultural policy, this is another topic that has been on the agenda of the Government of the Northwest Territories either in the forefront or on the backburner for many, many years, the idea of an ombudsman for the Northwest Territories. It was certainly something that was discussed by many, many candidates over the years in candidates’ forums and on election platforms.

We are here today to make a decision on a motion to ask the government to move forward with the establishment of an ombudsman’s office. I think that the success of...

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. I have several other Members here for general comments. Prior to that, I will use the prerogative of the Chair to recognize Marc Miltenberger, a constituent of Hay River South, in the gallery today and, of course, the brother of our Finance Minister. Welcome, Marc.

---Applause

Next for general comments I have Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Further general comments to the committee report? Mr. Bromley.

Thank you. We will take a brief break and come back with that matter. Thank you.

---SHORT RECESS

I call Committee of the Whole to order. We have one item before us today. What is the wish of the committee? Ms. Bisaro.