Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I really look forward to that plan for this function within ITI. I know that there was a lot of work to be done to get our systems in place for administering oil and gas rights and our own system and so on. That's all fine and dandy, but, if there's no activity taking place, then I think we need to look at what kind of resources we dedicate to those functions. I'm not going to get into an argument with the Minister. I've never said that these people are not working or doing a fine job because I know that they do. I just would ask that the Minister be a little more...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I am trying to figure out, then, if there is no money in this budget, how the work is going to get done. We had a small glimpse of how much work is going to be required for those of us who live through the development of the bill itself and the review of it. How is this work going to get done if there are no additional resources in this budget? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Great, thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Minister's commitment. This follows up on the recommendation from the last Assembly that the review should be done, an independent panel or some other form as has been done in Alberta twice with regard to their oil and gas regime, because the feds never really did this when they had jurisdiction. I think it's timely that this government takes that approach, so I am pleased to hear that the Minister is going to share the approach that she's going to develop with Regular MLAs.

I want to move on. My colleague from Yellowknife North asked about the...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I have heard from our witnesses that one part of it might take two to four years to implement, and that is not unusual. When Ontario rewrote its mining legislation, it took 10 years to fully implement. I don't think we're going to be that much different, but I do really want to see a full plan. Are there any additional resources in this budget for the development of regulations and the consultation that should take place around it? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Phase 2 is supposed to involve some kind of public engagement. What's that going to look like given COVID and so on, and are there going to be independent experts who are actually going to be conducting the review? How is this going to be done? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I guess I'm still not quite convinced, here. It would also be helpful to know whether service standards have been established for responses to enquiries under the Emerging Wisely Plan for a risk assessment assistance, site inspections, and any other anticipated work. If there are significant delays from the service standards, that should logically trigger the need for additional resources and those triggers should be identified ahead of time. Can the Minister tell us whether service standards have been developed for the WSCC...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Any idea when that is going to be available? Thanks, Madam Chair.

I want to thank the Minister for that. It sounds like there is a lot if inspection work that is going to be required. It is clear that with the Emerging Wisely plan that there will be an increased workload for WSCC in terms of general enquiries, maybe not reviews of risk assessments but assistance in workplace inspections. Can the Minister explain whether WSCC has conducted any analysis of how the current workload is expected to increase under the Emerging Wisely plan?

Thanks, Madam Chair. I appreciate that a new person is going to have to have some time to get up to speed and so on, but I will just pick a date. Is this going to be a Christmas present that the Minister is going to give us as MLAs to have a look at a new plan for BDIC? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Great to hear that. I guess, too, I also would like to know more about this Northern Food Development Program and how that is going to contribute towards building food security here in the Northwest Territories. I think that we were very lucky in the pandemic that we were able to maintain supply chains with the South, but I also know that, if we cut off Yellowknife in the middle of winter, we would probably last about three or four weeks before we would have to be looking at mass evacuations.

We have an agricultural policy that was developed in the last Assembly, but a lot...