Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I do have some questions for the minister of environment and natural resources. Again, I haven't given him a heads up but, look, it's in the media now that the federal government is developing some regulations to allow for the release of water from the oil sands in Alberta. Of course, that would flow downstream past our communities, including Fort Smith.

So can the Minister tell us what involvement, if any, our government has had in the development of these regulations? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to ask some questions to the Minister of Infrastructure. I apologize I didn't know I was going to have the opportunity to do this today.

I understand from a news release that the department has put out that there's some cold weather testing of a light-armored helicopter happening out at the Yellowknife Airport. Can the Minister tell us whether we have any criteria for the use of the Yellowknife Airport when it comes to cold weather testing? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that commitment to table the report.

So it's evident from the meeting summaries that the Chamber of Mines is pressing both the federal and NWT governments to provide legally binding policy direction to co-management bodies to "fix the grassroots exploration investment identified in the audit."

Can the Minister explain what sort of policy direction is being sought by the chamber and whether our government is going to do that to these independent comanagement bodies? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Madam Chair, I move that the chair rise and report progress. Thanks.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to go back to the Minister of ITI about the secret meetings of the GNWTChamber of Mines working group. The meeting summaries appear to show that a draft list of critical minerals and proposed actions on critical minerals has already been shared with the Chamber. ITI indicates that "we won't engage on it much when it is released."

Can the Minister explain what is going on here with critical minerals and what commitments may have already been made? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I just wanted to relay very quickly my thanks as a Member of the committee for the work that was done on the report. We did hear from a number of different internet service providers and from the Department of Finance that tends to have responsibility for information technology within our government and manages some of the projects related to access and affordability of telecommunication services in the NWT. So I know committee spent a fair bit of time listening to different people and interests on this issue. There was a submission made to the Canadian Radio...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for those words. As I understand, the Chamber of Mines has filed for a judicial review of decision by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board not to issue unlimited extensions to land use permits. And, Mr. Speaker, I don't want to speak to the case in any way, but the meeting summary show that the chamber met with Ministers of this government about their application before it was filed. So can the Minister tell us what happened in those meetings? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. And I do want to sincerely thank the Minister of Finance for her concluding remarks. I don't have anything nearly as eloquent, or prepared. But I certainly do appreciate, you know, the work that the Minister does on behalf of Cabinet in the review of the capital estimates. I've been here six years. I want the public to know that this kind of collaborative discussion did not happen in the last Assembly when it came to either the capital or the main estimates. And it's certainly very much appreciated. I think it's a different way of doing business compared to the last...

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

A couple of weeks ago I tabled redacted meeting summaries from the GNWTChamber of Mines COVID19 Working Group meetings. From the April 28th meeting, ITI states "allowing money from philanthropic organizations from the south is something we will be watching so it doesn't influence land use planning with more protected areas."

Can the Minister tell us which philanthropic organizations are being watched and what kind of monitoring or surveillance is being conducted? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I give notice that on Thursday, December 9th, 2021, I'll move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that the following Members be pointed as alternate members of the board of management: Mr. Rocky Simpson, the Member for Hay River South; and Mrs. Caroline Cochrane, the Member for Range Lake;

And further, that the following Members be appointed to the Standing Committee on Government Operations: Mrs. Lesa Semmler, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes; Ms. Caitlin Cleveland, the Member for Kam Lake; Mrs...