Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I will keep this very brief. We read the report into the House, I think it was yesterday. The Rules and Procedures Committee held public hearings in three different locations, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, and Inuvik, on some changes that are going to be forthcoming for discussion.

These are changes to the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. Just quickly, these will:

modify the oath of office sworn by Members to include obligations;

clarify conflict of interest regime in respect of Members and former Members;

require adoption by the Legislative Assembly of a Code of...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I accept the interpretation from the law clerk about how this would be applied. This would, in my view, not be applied to every decision. This is meant to be helpful guidance in determining those matters that would significantly affect the environment where the statement of environmental values would come into play. I don't think this takes away from anybody's decision-making authority. It is about trying to provide some assistance in how the statement of environmental values will actually work in practise. Using the criteria that the Minister has already accepted in another...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Earlier, I mentioned that one of the improvements in the bill is going to be a state of the environment report that is required. There is state of the environment reporting already taking place, pursuant to the Mackenzie Valley Resources Management Act, part 6, and I guess committee felt that it was important to coordinate these sort of state of the environment reporting efforts no matter what piece of legislation they may be carried out under. Under the proposed forest act, there was supposed to be a state of the forest report, as well. ENR does a good job at pulling these...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to ask some questions about the Food Establishment Safety Regulations that I found out about today through the Minister's statement. I was contacted while we were in the House here by someone who prepares food for sale at the Yellowknife Farmer's Market. Can the Minister tell us what sort of public engagement took place around the development of the Food Establishment Safety Regulations? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Sorry for this. Would there be a requirement for every GNWT decision, action, to consider all of these criteria? Sorry. Would these criteria require their consideration the way this has been drafted in every single decision, action, taken by GNWT? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I mentioned earlier how the department, in carrying out the public consultations that went into the development of the bill, had said that they were contemplating the development of an environmental registry.

Ontario has such as registry already in place, and has had it in place for more than a decade. This is one place on the Ontario government website where any individual can go and find important decisions that are made with regard to the environment; proposals for policies, programs, new regulations, draft regulations; and there is an opportunity for the public to comment...

I want to thank the Premier for that information. There seems to be some confusion about what's covered and what's not, but I understand from what the Premier said that there is a review that may have started, failed efforts in the past to review the extended health benefits programs, including the specified disease condition list. I would like to ask the Premier: what's the holdup, and when will this review really commence?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think the Minister has misunderstood what the amendment is all about. As I understand it, this is not about making these criteria apply to any decision or action; it's about how the statement of environmental values is applied. Something has to be determined to significantly affect the environment; this is not about applying those criteria to every single decision that the government has to make. So I guess I would like to seek the advice of the law clerk in understanding how this amendment can be interpreted, whether it would apply to all decisions that the government...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. First off, I have a confession to make. I am passionate about this bill. This is the first time that the Environmental Rights Act has been through a review in 29 years. There have only been four requests under the act. It is not very well used; I don't think it's terribly well promoted. Of the four requests, there has only ever been one investigation carried out. I helped make that request with a friend, Chris O'Brien, about emissions from the Giant Mine.

Because this area of environmental rights is evolving over time, and certainly a number of other jurisdictions have...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I pointed out in my statement earlier today that there have been a number of instances in which serious and not uncommon medical conditions are not eligible for healthcare supports under the specified disease conditions list through the extended health benefits program. The latest instance brought to me of non-coverage was with regard to autism. I mentioned how the NWT Autism Society has produced legal analysis that claims that non-coverage of these conditions is discriminatory. I would like to know from the Minister whether his office has had a chance to review...