Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for that commitment. I look forward to an update on the range plan, and if I don't hear back before the end of the sitting, I might ask again, but maybe the Minister won't ever want to drive with me anywhere again.

Seriously, Mr. Speaker, lastly, there doesn't seem to be any new funds identified for the caribou crisis in the budget address earlier today. Can the Minister tell me whether there is any new funding for caribou in the 2019-2020 budget? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that. I can give him my assurance that those joint management proposals were sent in, in some cases, before we met with the communities. They were good meetings. I just wish that they had happened sooner, and I understand there is some urgency with this issue.

I have looked at these joint management proposals, and there doesn't seem to be any specific measures or actions related to habitat protection. There are just some further measures or restrictions on harvesting. I wonder: can the Minister explain why the joint management proposal for the Bathurst caribou...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Chief Edward Sangris of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. And, of course, we are meeting on Chief Drygeese Territory. I have two constituents I would like to recognize, as well; Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA, and Debby Rybchinski, who is the manager of Alison McAteer House. They are both here for meetings with the NWT Shelter Network this week. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that. Yes, the joint management proposal does reference the range planning exercise and the plan itself, but it doesn't actually contain any of the measures from the plan. The problem seems to be with the plan itself. The plan, which I think is a good one, contains specific recommendations for community guardianship, habitat conservation, mobile caribou conservation measures, road planning and management, and so on, but the problem is that that plan doesn't seem to carry much weight yet.

Can the Minister explain what the status of the range plan is and why almost none...

Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on the crisis of the Bathurst caribou herd.

I want to again thank the Minister for taking me along on the community visits. I thought that the community visits were a very good idea. I just wish that they had happened before the submission with the joint proposal, the management proposals for the two herds. I would like the Minister to explain why there was no consultation on the joint management proposals, before they were submitted, with the Tlicho communities, Yellowknives Dene First Nation...

Merci, Monsieur le President. At the invitation of the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, I attended community meetings last month in Wekweeti, Gameti, Behchoko, and Detah on the future of the Bluenose East and Bathurst Caribou herds, and I want to thank sincerely the Minister for that opportunity.

There was a joint Tlicho government-ENR presentation that covered the recent surveys, collars, monitoring programs, harvest controls, wolf harvest incentives, land use, habitat and fire, education, and research.

The main comments and suggestions from participants included:

harvest...

I would like to thank the Minister for that. Can the Minister tell us whether there are essential services agreements in place for the three bargaining units that I mentioned earlier?

Merci, Monsieur le President. I am very mindful of the words that you offered at the beginning of this sitting about being careful how we are choosing our questions, and I do believe in collective bargaining, but there has been an event this afternoon that I need to ask some questions of the other side about. There was a news release put out earlier this afternoon about a strike notice being issued by the Union of Northern Workers, and I would like to ask which bargaining units have provided strike notice to our government. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I meant to ask that question...

The Minister didn't answer my question, but of course, he is not obligated to do that.

The Tlicho government issued its own news release on the signing of this agreement, the NICO Agreement, and they said that they believe it is a breach of the Tlicho Agreement and entirely inconsistent with this government's policy on engagement with Indigenous governments. Can the Minister confirm that there was no real consultation with the Tlicho government before the signing of this agreement and explain why?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I have looked at the NICO Socio-Economic Agreement, but there are no sanctions or penalties for non-compliance or failure to reach targets. It is basically an unenforceable best efforts arrangement. For example, with employment and training targets, why not make a payment into a training or education fund or program if the targets aren't reached? Can the Minister explain why our government continues to sign best efforts agreements without any teeth, without any sanctions or penalties? Mahsi, Mr...