Kevin O'Reilly
Statements in Debates
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)
Merci, Monsieur le President. By the time this House reconvenes in May, the opportunity for public comments on the review of NWT mining royalties will have closed without much public debate or media coverage. Why is this important?
There has never been a comprehensive and independent review of mining royalties and the present process is fundamentally flawed, with literally billions of dollars of potential government revenues at stake.
I submitted eight pages of comments on a previous version of a research paper. It took two attempts to even get an acknowledgement and there has never been a...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)
Merci, Monsieur le President. I don't really want to say too much but, you know, I accept that systemic racism exists, and I think we all have a duty to discuss it and acknowledge its existence and address it. And I honestly believe that my colleagues on the other side feel the same way. So it's how we do that, Mr. Speaker, that that's going to make the difference. And that's, I think, the kind of legacy that we all collectively want to leave.
But somehow this debate and discussion after a long day of some criticism about the budget, budgetmaking process, somehow discussion has been...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)
Merci, Monsieur le President. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier. Mahsi.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)
Merci, Monsieur le President. I give notice that on Monday, April 4th, I'll move the following motion:
Now therefore I move, second by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that the following Member be removed as an alternate to the Standing Committee on Social Development: Mr. Jackie Jacobson, the Member for Nunakput;
And further, that the following Member be appointed to the Standing Committee on Social Development: Mr. Rocky Simpson, the Member for Hay River South;
And further, that the following Member be appointed to the Standing Committee on Social Development and Government Operations: Mr...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that of course. Well let's talk about experts because certainly in Alberta and BC, the best practice is to actually hire independent experts and set up a panel and let them go to it. But, you know, I've looked at the discussion research papers on the engagement web page. The background information there doesn't even include the ITI commissioned report NWT Mineral Sector Review and Benchmarking Study, or even the SCEDI report on Economic Analysis of the GNWT's Approach to the Mining Fiscal Review.
So can the Minister explain why...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
My statement outlined the fundamental flaws with the current review of the NWT mining royalties. The first one is the total secrecy surrounding disclosure or of even financial analysis of mining royalties. The discussion research papers barely acknowledge the problem and propose no solutions.
Can the Minister explain the absence of any meaningful discussion of transparency and disclosure of mining royalties in the discussion research papers? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.