Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. I know the clock is ticking down. I really do want to urge the Minister to look at the need for this. I don't think there is a need for it anymore, and it needs to be rejigged in a way that recognizes legitimate rights of people who have surface interests, whether they are Indigenous or not. I just think that this kind of colonial approach needs to be revisited and probably done away with. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Does the Minister expect to complete this review before the end of this Assembly? Could she give us some idea? The Minister has a Petroleum Resources Strategy in place that includes spending for a million dollars over three years and, as I understand it, some of that is to review the regulations and framework that we have in place. Can the Minister commit to completing that review before the end of this Assembly? It's a one-page regulation; I don't know what the problem is.

Thanks. No, that’s good to know. Thanks, I don’t have any further question. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I am not sure what the problem is. This is a one-page regulation; one page. These limits are in there. Let's just fix it. The Minister can fix it tomorrow, if she wants. Can the Minister explain when and how long this review is that she is going to undertake? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I agree it's about outcomes, and there really weren't a lot from the last Assembly, just in terms of negotiations. I guess what I'm hearing now is that there are negotiations that are continuing, but people come to the table and they say, "I don't have a new mandate. I'm still operating under the old mandate that was given in the last Assembly." I don't know what's happened at the tables, but it doesn't sound like there's very much. When are our negotiators going to get new mandates, a different approach, more willingness to work together in implementing the existing...

I want to thank the Minister for that, but she didn't actually explain what public purpose they serve. Basically, they shield private companies from liability and, in this day and age, we need to be adopting a "polluter pays" approach. I'd like to know if the Minister can explain whether Cabinet intends to respond to the recommendations from the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment from the last Assembly. That committee recommended "a comprehensive review of oil and gas related regulation with the expressed purpose to increase the cap for absolute liability." Can the...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Well, I'm sure they are registered on the federal lobbyists registry, but I don't want to continue this. We're still paying $120,000 to some folks in Ottawa.

I want to ask the Minister, in the last government, the Regular MLAs, we never got to meet ever with federal Ministers when they came here for visits. I don't think there have been a lot of visits so far, but there were NWT days in the past where a whole bunch of MLAs went to Ottawa and did lobbying. Would this Minister look at the idea or the issue of Regular MLAs actually getting to meet with federal Ministers when...

Merci, Monsieur le President. Our government continues to promote hydrocarbon development through a May 2018 strategy document; in fact, Cabinet wants to spend $1 million over three years to promote oil and gas development. One thing that has not changed in our post-devolution oil and gas regime is a cap on absolute liability for spills or accidents. This cap is found in the Oil and Gas Spills and Debris Liability Regulations that set absolute liability limits of between $10 and $40 million, depending on the location of the spill or debris caused by onshore oil and gas development. Mr. Speaker...

Thanks, Madam Chair. So, this, I think, is part of Executive and Indigenous affairs, where federal engagement is found. I’m just wondering, do we still retain a lobbyist firm in Ottawa? That was something that was done in the last Assembly, and I just want to know if that’s the case. We have some kind of retainer with some firm, and what it’s costing us. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I figured that that was the kind of response I was going to get. We have some delegated authority under the MVRMA. Presumably, the objective here is to increase the delegated authority and/or give us some ability to change parts, perhaps, of the MVRMA ourselves. I'm not opposed to that in principle, but I think that it has to be approached very carefully, and it is going to require the support of the Indigenous governments.

I think that there is the mistaken belief that, if and when GNWT gets control, we could just higgledy-piggledy start changing things. That's not the...