Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. I don't want to prolong this, but I guess I had hoped to see something about developing partnerships even within Yellowknife as part of the mandate. The city has the opportunity to develop a hotel levee; they haven't taken that up. I recognize that, but there could be work with Indigenous governments here in Yellowknife. There is federal money available for cultural centres, as well. I think you can be creative. If ITI can find ways to help with these kinds of partnerships, that would be great, but we do need proper visitor services in Yellowknife to make sure that people...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I'm looking at the second item on this page. Increase tourism in the NWT with a focus basically outside of Yellowknife. That's fine, but there are actually tourism needs in Yellowknife, and I would like to hear from the Premier how this government is going to support tourism in Yellowknife and around Yellowknife? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I'll be pretty blunt here. This is another example of a P3 gone wild, where the promise was made, when the Mackenzie Valley fibre link was built as a P3, that this was going to speed up access for all of our communities along the link and that all of the communities down the Mackenzie Valley would have access to high-speed Internet. It has not happened. I guess the Premier is saying that this is a really a private sector responsibility. Then it was a poorly designed P3 that only developed a fibre link that goes by communities and does not connect them. I see the...

I want to thank the Minister for that. I am not sure what agreements were signed in August of last year to establish this, but, presumably, one of them should be at least posted to our public registry. I want to move on.

Part of Thaidene Nene is an area to be set aside and established as a wildlife conservation area under the Wildlife Act. Can the Minister tell us whether the wildlife conservation area will include a permanent surface and subsurface land withdrawal, and when will the area be established by regulation?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, responsible for protected areas, including Thaidene Nene. The Protected Areas Act was brought into force on June 20, 2019, over seven months ago, and there is still no public registry as required under this legislation. Can the Minister explain why there is no public registry and when one will finally be established? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President, and I want to thank the Minister for that. I think there might be a little bit of a misunderstanding, here. My understanding is that the wildlife conservation area is going to be permanently protected and that the surface/subsurface is not going to be open for exploration, so I will be very curious to follow this along, because I don't think that's what the Minister said. However, earlier today, I said that the only public commitment of GNWT funding toward Thaidene Nene seems to be an annual appropriation of $290,000. The federal government has even committed to...

I want to thank the Minister for that, and I would suggest that he actually look at the so-called public registry. The act itself requires about 18 different kinds of information to be posted. The establishment agreements for Thaidene Nene are not found there. A better model is to look at the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board or the review board's public registries. I am happy to talk to the Minister or the staff about this, but that is not a public registry, and I do not think it even meets the basic minimum requirements of the legislation. Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I want to go on to my...

Merci, Monsieur le President. A number of agreements were signed to formally establish Thaidene Nene as a national park and protected area under GNWT legislation in August 2019. This was a monumental achievement in terms of building a conservation economy, and was very important for the community of Lutselk'e that spent decades negotiating this area. While our government attended the signing ceremony, there was no news release, and not even a Minister's statement. Quite frankly, the GNWT had to be dragged into the arrangement and resisted it at almost every step. This, despite the visitor...

Thanks, Madam Chair. How do we demonstrate to the public and how can Cabinet convince Regular MLAs that climate change does become a consideration in important decisions or FMB decisions? How is that going to be documented and reported in any way? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Never having been in Cabinet, an FMB submission or a request for funding, whatever, are there guidelines or is there a template that determines how it's laid out and what risks are outlined and considered and discussed in the submission for funding? Thanks, Madam Chair.