Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Premier, who is responsible for federal relations. In my statement earlier today, I noted the potential for literally billions of dollars of federal investment across the northern territories as part of an accelerated program on contaminated-site remediation and economic recovery. It's not clear that my call for action was taken seriously in May. Does the Premier see this as a major opportunity for federal funding transfers? If so, tell us who is actually in charge of this work and how it's going to be coordinated across several...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I, too, provided my own links and comments back to the Minister in terms of those areas of specialization for the polytechnic university. I guess what I want to speak about now is really that we still have a long way to go as a government to prevent further public environmental liabilities. We, of course, want to make sure that the polluter-pays principle is honoured and that current users do not use an accelerated contaminated sites program to subsidize or replace their own obligations. Can the Premier provide any assurance...

I want to thank the Minister for that update. In the joint letter that I saw on a pan-territorial approach, the issue of an accelerated contaminated sites program was buried on page 3, and it was really dressed up as support for the mining industry. I am worried that GNWT will simply see this federal support as a way to lessen the public liability we failed to prevent from a bankruptcy of Strategic Oil and Gas, Cameron Hills, and similar boondoggles. What assurance can the Premier give me that there is a real vision and concrete proposal for an accelerated northern contaminated sites...

Merci, Monsieur le President. On April 17, 2020, the federal government announced $1.72 billion in financial assistance for the remediation of orphan and inactive oil and gas wells in western Canada as part of Canada's Economic Response Plan for COVID-19. On May 28, I made a statement in this House about the potential for the NWT to access similar funding, working in partnership with Yukon and Nunavut. The Premier provided some assurances that "remediation from mine sites has always been a priority." The Premier also said that a joint letter was in preparation to federal Ministers from the...

I want to thank the Minister for that. Of course, we are at the table in those proceedings. Apparently, we have legal counsel there, and we do have a say in terms of the transfer of any of these licences, so I hope that it is exercised in a reasonable way and that this side is consulted. The Dominion Diamond news release said that the insurance companies that issued the surety bonds refused to agree to the sale to the new entity, so can the Minister explain what is going on? Why won't these insurance companies agree to the sale of the mine?

Merci, monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance who has the lead on the Dominion Diamond Creditor Protection matter. It's my understanding that GNWT also has to consent to the transfer or signing of the water licence, land leases, land-use permits, and environmental agreement covering the Ekati Mine to any new entity. Licence and permits must be in place for any new owner to operate. Can the Minister confirm that the GNWT must consent to the assignment of a number of licences and permits to any new entity for the Ekati Mine? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, monsieur le President. I wish to table the following two documents: the first is an email from Our Time Yellowknife about Just Recovery for the Northwest Territories. The second document, Mr. Speaker, is an opinion piece in The Hill Times dated June 20, 2020, by Premier Cochrane, entitled, "COVID-19 has made the North's quest for equality a steeper climb." Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that, and I will acknowledge that, pretty quickly after some time she finds out about these things, she does share it with us. I want to give her credit for that. However, it seems to be changing almost daily or monthly, and I am just wondering what kind of lines of communication our government keeps with some of the creditors, Union of Northern Workers who represents some of the workers at the site, even the insurance companies that have the surety bonds, Dominion itself, if the Minister can speak in broad terms about the lines of...

I want to thank the Minister for that. I just hope that part of our messaging is that we have workers at the site. They do have rights, and we want to make sure that they are protected, because, if pensions aren't paid to these workers, guess what? They are going to come back, and they may end up on Income Assistance. It's going to cost our government something, as well.

I guess this really gets to the broader question of communications around what we're doing. I don't want to get into the specifics of the court proceeding, but the only place I can find any information about this is in the...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Of course, we all want to see the mine reopen, but I just don't want our government to get short-changed or the environment to get short-changed in the process. For the first time I can recall, GNWT accepted surety bonds as financial securities for this particular mine. Insurance companies don't stay in business by paying out. Can the Minister tell us whether it is Cabinet's position that these surety bonds should be converted to or replaced by the more reliable and irrevocable letters of credit issued by a Canadian chartered...