Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, monsieur le President. Forgive me if I look like a prune today, but I want to go back to the issue of the Cantung Mine and Mactung that I raised yesterday. My questions are for the Minister of Lands today, though. GNWT had a surface lease covering the Cantung Mine as a result of devolution. I would like to know whether we have turned that back to the federal government now. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Look, I need to be clear, here. In the last Assembly, I said that I don't support this particular project when we don't have a comprehensive plan in place and funded to protect the Bathurst caribou herd, which is down to 8,200 animals. Until our government gets serious about habitat protection and has that plan fully implemented, in place, funded, and so on, I will not be supporting this expenditure of funds. We can't have an all-weather road through critical habitat, including the Nunavut portion, which is a slightly different project, go through the calving grounds of...

I want to thank the Minister for that explanation. Look, it's great that our staff are -- and I know that they work very hard at Stanton Hospital, but clearly, when a policy like this is decided internally, it's probably not in the best interests of the patients. I have reviewed the Sonography Canada Professional Practice Guidelines; in fact, I quoted from them in my Member's statement. They were released in September of 2018, and there was nothing in there about northern healthcare or any specific guidance to exclude family members during an ultrasound. Would the Minister confirm that the...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I was a Member of the last Assembly and we received a lot of information, some of which was about this particular project, but I don't actually ever recall seeing a business case for it. If the Minister can commit to share that, that would be great. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister tell this House what the current policy and practice is for ultrasounds at Stanton Territorial Hospital with regard to family members being present during the procedure? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I'm trying to understand what the Minister said. Is she going to be able to provide to the House information on the total cost of this project, and that that will come shortly? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Thanks to the Minister for that. What is the total cost of this project? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that and her words about minimizing liabilities. In fact, that is what this government should be doing all along, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It remains to be seen whether we can actually ever sell the Mactung property and recover our costs. I would like the Minister, though, to explain what lessons, if any, this government has learned from the Mactung property acquisition and possible sale. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that. It is not clear to me why these two properties are being marketed together. They are 140 kilometres apart; that is by air. If you try to drive from one site to the other, it is 700 kilometres. Can the Minister explain why we are marketing these properties together?

Merci, Monsieur le President. A number of Ministers recently returned from another Roundup mining conference in Vancouver, so I am hoping they were able to unload the Mactung property, which this government bought in 2015.

Just how did we get here? North American Tungsten, the owner and operator of the former Cantung Mine, went into creditor protection on June 9, 2015. Somehow, the federal government let that company put up the Mactung property as part of its financial security for its water licence. When our government inherited the management of the Cantung site under devolution, nothing was...