Statements in Debates
I want to thank the Premier again. I just would like to get a better understanding of why the establishment of Edehzhie is contingent upon the Dehcho Land Use Plan.
Merci, Monsieur le President. While we've been sitting here, I think one of the best news pieces I've had in the 19th Assembly arrived in my inbox. I want to commend the Premier for the leadership on this issue, and her Cabinet. We just got a news release about a permanent land withdrawal for the subsurface on the Edehzhie Protected Area. Thank you, and thanks to the Premier and Cabinet. This is a very significant move in terms of reconciliation, so I sincerely want to thank my Cabinet colleagues and the Premier for the leadership on this issue.
My question, Mr. Speaker: can the Premier provide...
Merci, Monsieur le President. I am still confused, and I think members of the public are still confused about this. If someone presents at the border and they don't have an exemption, they don't have a self-isolation plan, and if they head off somewhere, who is going to cover the costs associated with that? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to chat with the Minister afterwards. You have an opportunity to make a personal explanation to correct the record, but that's a procedural thing. This is still very confusing, Mr. Speaker. What happens when a Canadian citizen arrives into the NWT and they do not meet any of the current exemptions? Will they be turned back, or are they allowed to stay somewhere, even if it's at the border? Are they allowed to stay for 14 days and self-isolate and then apply for an exemption? How does this work?
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I have been pushing him on that for some time, so I look forward to getting the information.
The scheduled calving ground survey for the Bathurst caribou herd is not going to proceed this summer as a result of the pandemic. Can the Minister tell us what the management implications are for the herd now that this key population assessment tool is not going to take place? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I want to thank the Minister for that. It was good to see the Minister working with Indigenous leaders to condemn the illegal killing of caribou and meat wastage in March of this year. Can the Minister tell us what enforcement actions resulted from this hunting and what preventative measures this government is taking?
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Premier again. I think this is a very significant step forward. Part of my concern here is that the Dehcho Land Use Plan has been in development for 19, count them, 19 years, and at first, the obstacle was the federal government because they owned the land, and the GNWT was at the table, but now the obstacle is our government. We own the land, and our government is the obstacle. I have heard this from people involved in the process. The concern is too much land being protected and so on. You have to give the communities the right to decide what...
Thanks, very much to the Premier for that. According to the Government of Canada webpage, it says that Edehzhie will be established as a national park area under the Canada Wildlife Act in 2020. That's this year. I think the permanent withdrawal is helpful, but what we really need is the transfer of the lands back to the federal government, or perhaps some other arrangement to prevent this from being undone in the future. Can the Premier tell us whether we're still on schedule for the establishment as Edehzhie as a National Wildlife Area, and what role this government intends to play?
Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to provide an update on the state of the Bathurst caribou herd since we last sat in March. March 13, 2020, the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board decided that the proposed 2020 wolf cull could proceed as a pilot project. The board will conduct a more rigorous review of the remaining four years of the proposed program beginning in August of this year. This revised proposal should also include "lesson learned" from the implementation of the 2020 management actions. The board said that "it is clear that communication in advance of the submission of...
Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, this is, I guess, another one that I am passionate about. I've raised this issue with my colleague, the Minister of Finance, several times about the wage top-up program and want to commend her again. I think Cabinet did the right thing in extending this wage top-up to all low wage income earners in the Northwest Territories. It's not focused just on essential service workers.
I can support this but the real answer here is to increase our minimum wage, and that's what needs to happen. It's not just maybe into $18 an hour. It needs to be closer to a living wage that we...