Kevin A. Menicoche

I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories continues to move forward with the concept of a service-based model as suggested in the proposed Official Languages Services Act.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask my questions to the Minister of ENR with regard to the buffalo issue in Fort Liard. During my constituency visit last month it was raised again and residents are continually raising the issue of damages to their vehicles, their property, et cetera. Part of the buffalo management plan was to have more resources available for the community to manage the bison and buffalo issue there. What is currently being done to assist the community of Fort Liard with their buffalo issue?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad to hear that answer that they will consider mitigating circumstances, and I will follow up with the Minister on the specifics of what I was talking about. Just one more question on the holdbacks. How soon are they typically released? Thank you.

There’s probably different ways it’s written up, but typically at what point are the holdbacks released? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Definitely before Christmas would be a good time to get to the community and provide these options and how it’s worked in other jurisdictions such as Highway No. 3.

One other option, as I was watching the news, is that there is a revitalization of buffalo herds in Saskatchewan. I’d just ask the Minister if he and his department could check that out. I believe they were looking for some buffalo. Residents of Fort Liard are really frustrated enough that they’re saying to get rid of these buffalo, move them out of here. They’re not local to here.

It sounds like one possible solution. It would be like culling the herd, I guess. In terms of numbers, how many buffalo are around Fort Liard?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The community of Wrigley, or Pehdzeh Ki, is a strong community and has a long history of being independent and taking care of the community and their land. Currently there are many different barriers that are in their way as they look for opportunities to improve and increase their sustainability and develop their human resource capacity. It is critical that our government work with them as they strive for more and more independence.

I do want to provide an example of how the community is moving forward for the benefit of the community. This summer and fall, a mining company...

The reason I’m raising it, I’ve got a business in my riding that ran into an issue with the holdback. I think the issue was that there were circumstances beyond their control and that led them to not cleaning up a site. I’m trying not to get into too many specifics, Mr. Speaker, but if there’s something beyond their control, will the department consider special circumstances with regard to that? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation some questions. The department has lots of contracts out there and I just wanted to ask him a little bit about the holdback policy for contractors. Typically how is it run and what’s the percentage, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Certainly there is one too many. The Minister is talking about going to the community and providing some options. When would he be doing that? Hopefully sooner rather than later.