Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. My question's for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources who should actually be the Minister of Environment and Climate Change still waiting for that change.

In my statement earlier today, I noted how the Yukon government has established a youth panel on climate change and that they met virtually for the first time in January of this year. Can the Minister tell us whether we will ever get a similar body for interested youth in the Northwest Territories and if not, why? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that level of detail. Kind of hard for me to understand why mini hydro would be any less durable or last less time than a big hydro project like Snare which actually requires a massive investment to replace turbines and all kinds of stuff. And your technical folks will know way more about the work that's required in the Snare system to keep it going, because that was built in the 1940s and is going to require a massive investment to modernize and update it again. So, yeah, if there is any more detailed work that's been done to  you know, do some sort of comparison...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Can I get a commitment out of the Minister to provide a list of the studies, their cost, and could she make the studies available if I ask for them? On a confidential basis, of course. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Okay, thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to the Minister for that. I guess this gets back to some of the reasons why I actually voted against the capital budget, because I just felt it was unrealistic and there was I think almost half of the money in the capital budget was a carryover from the previous year, and I just felt that there's no way we're actually going to be able to get all this money out the door during a pandemic, and I'm concerned about getting some of this money out the door even in this sup as well. So, yeah, until we get a better tracking system and a more realistic capital...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I raised this in previous a capital budgets. I had understood the Department of Finance was going to develop some kind of a tracking system for carryovers, because we've had growing and very significant carryovers over a period of time and that's another question I'll ask at some point, but. And the tracking system was supposed to kind of categorize the reasons for carryovers. Sometimes it's got to do with cash flow from another party or, you know, inability to get the money out the door or there's no contractors available to do the work, or weather, or whatever. Is that...

Thanks, Madam Chair. The committee wishes to deal with Tabled Document 41119(2), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 20212022; and Committee Report 1619(2), Report on Housing Phase One: Needs for NWT Homeowners and Private Landlords. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Short recess

Merci, Monsieur le President. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, June 4th, 2021, I will move the following motion: Now, therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that the Government of the Northwest Territories develop a food securities strategy by engaging Northwest Territories residents, harvesters, and agricultural producers to develop a coordinated and comprehensive approach to programs and services with specific targets, actions, and timelines.

And further, that the Premier appoint a Minister responsible for food security to lead this work; and furthermore...

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

Carried

Mahsi, Monsieur le President. We don't have to look far to see the mounting impacts to climate change. Extreme events such as high water levels, sea ice disappearing at unprecedented rates and new species arriving in the NWT, like magpies and cougars, are all signs of the need to change the way we use energy. The latest modelling shows that to prevent the worst climate effects, we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

It's not clear how our government is evaluating our investments in energy projects. The Social Environmental Justice...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Just to be crystal clear, you know, Cabinet is going to have an obligation now to respond to these committee reports. There's some clear recommendations in here for legislative change, and I expect that our Cabinet colleagues are going to adopt and endorse some of these recommendations without having to necessarily consult with Indigenous governments. But I look forward to them actually bringing forward the required changes in the lifetime of this Assembly. Thanks, Madam Chair.