Kevin O'Reilly

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Over the weekend the lead story on CBC's national website was about arsenic contamination throughout the Yellowknife area. My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. What role is the Government of the Northwest Territories taking on the analysis and remediation of the widespread arsenic pollution beyond the borders of the Giant Mine site? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Committee Report 2-18(2) be received and adopted by this Assembly. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le president. I am pleased to present the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Interim Report on the Review of Members’ Conduct Guidelines.

It is a priority of the 18th Legislative Assembly to promote and ensure, to the greatest extent possible, a high standard of personal and public conduct for current and future Members. An important step was taken via Motion 6-18(1), entitled “Adoption of Members’ Conduct Guidelines.” Introduced by the Member for Hay River North, the motion represents this Assembly’s first referral of work to a standing committee:

WHEREAS the Members of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I again thank the Minister for doing his homework before coming into the House today. That is great.

---Laughter

Again, thank you. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources published an environmental guideline for contaminated site remediation in November 2003. Appendix 4 of that document contains remediation objectives for arsenic and soils depending on the end use. These guidelines, though, are now almost 13 years old. When does the department intend to review and update these guidelines? Will the Minister commit to consult this side of the House and the...

I appreciate the response from the Minister. I'm aware of the health risk assessment work that's being done around the Giant Mine site as part of that work. What specifically is the department doing about the offsite activity or the offsite contamination outside of the Giant Mine? You know, what sort of review of the effects of arsenic pollution caused by mining activities in the Yellowknife area on our environment and human health is the department actually working on?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I really don't want to speak at any length about the report. It is an interim report as noted early on in the presentation and on the cover of the report. We do intend to do some further work in terms of engaging the public. But most importantly, I want to thank the members of the committee, Mr. Sebert, Ms. Green, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Beaulieu for their hard work in putting this together. We look forward to the support of all Members moving forward. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Members of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures wish to engage the general public in a dialogue on the development and refinement of laws, Members’ conduct guidelines, and enforcement mechanisms in support of high ethical standards befitting the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly.

Following this report, the committee will issue a discussion paper posing a series of questions on key issues to stimulate public consideration and feedback. The committee plans to conduct public hearings outside the capital in November and December, 2016. The meetings will be well...

Merci, monsieur le President. Someone on the other side of the House may say that I'm not known for and may not recognize the good work of Cabinet. Well, today is their lucky day.

---Laughter

More seriously, I want to recognize the work done to produce the Yellowknife Homelessness Road Map Action Plan and the individuals who contributed. The regular members of the working group who produced the plan were Jeff Anderson, NWT Housing Corporation; Sheila Bassi-Kellett, Homeful Partnership; Linda Bussey, Yellowknife City Councillor; Bryany Denning, Yellowknife Women's Society; Lyda Fuller, YWCA...

I appreciate the response from the Minister. I really look forward to bringing forward my ideas and suggestions when we finally get there, but the response by the Premier to my written questions tabled earlier in this session reveals a convoluted regulatory system that is not open or transparent.

Previously, we've heard the words "evolve" and "devolve." Can the Minister responsible provide any assurances that we will improve this and move to a co-management system as is currently in place for land and water, where openness and transparency are far greater?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my colleagues. In conclusion, what this response to my written questions shows is a convoluted regulatory system for oil and gas, a lack of transparency, and the failure to ensure that we are not creating liabilities for future generations. This is not why we got devolution. I will ask questions later today for the Premier or whoever's in charge of oil and gas these days. Merci, Monsieur le President.