Kevin O'Reilly

The Bathurst caribou herd has suffered a catastrophic decline over the last 30 years from 472,000 to as low as 16,000 animals today. The response from this government to date has largely been centred on restricting the harvest by non-Aboriginal people and more recently, on Aboriginal peoples who have agreed to not take any caribou from this herd. The causes of the decline are not clear but we do know that the herd is less resilient when numbers are low and any further cumulative impacts may push the herd beyond the point of no return. A recently released study by the Tlicho Research and...

I understand, then, that it's a decision of Cabinet. Well, it's public now that it has been discussed in the House, but I presume then that the website is going to be updated to reflect this change. Is this something that appears in the Gazette? Is there any other sort of formal instrument that is required here?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to seek a commitment, then, from the Minister that he would report back to the House perhaps within six months about retention and recruitment rates for the RCMP in the communities where this transition in housing policy is going to take place. Thank you.

I'm very concerned about the ability of the RCMP to attract and retain staff to Yellowknife. Now we've heard that this is going to potentially impact a number of other communities. Can the Minister of Justice tell this House whether there will be any monitoring and evaluation of the impacts on recruitment and retention of RCMP in this transition to private housing? Will that monitoring be carried out by GNWT or the RCMP itself?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There is tremendous global interest in our natural environment, cultural, traditional knowledge, co-management systems, and cold-weather technology. Canada is the only circumpolar country without a university in its north. This is something that I believe the new federal government would support. This is the kind of vision I had expected to see as part of the proposed mandate. I look forward to the debate in the coming weeks on the future of the Northwest Territories and our fiscal situation. Masi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just noticed that there was a letter that was sent from the Premier to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning about Minister Sebert assuming the responsibility for the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations. I'm just curious to know, is there a formal instrument and does it have to be published in the Northwest Territories Gazette? Beyond just this letter, is there any other instrument that's required? A decision of Cabinet? How is this designation actually done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the answer from the Minister, but although it may be an internal management issue for the RCMP, I think this has potential impacts on our communities in terms of the ability of the RCMP to provide appropriate policing. So once again, can the Minister tell this House whether the GNWT then, if the RCMP won't do it, is going to monitor the impacts of this change in policy in terms of retention and recruitment?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that the RCMP has recently stopped providing housing for its staff posted to Yellowknife. I also understand that when the Police Services Agreement was renewed for 20 years, a new Contract Management Committee was created for consultation on just these kinds of issues. Can the Minister of Justice confirm if the RCMP is pulled out of staff housing in Yellowknife and whether the GNWT was consulted in any way before it occurred? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to make some general comments today on the future of the Northwest Territories. The proposed mandate tabled yesterday in this House and the Commissioner's Opening Address provided Cabinet's assessment of our fiscal situation, which is not shared by all in this Assembly.

We have inherited new authority and jurisdiction under devolution. We must use our resources very wisely to ensure that we do not take away opportunities for future generations, but also maximize the retention of benefits for our residents today. The federal government did not review revenues from...

That’s a piece of good news. I find out about it in the House, but thank you. Will the Minister commit to a public review of the structure and reporting relationships of the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations so as to avoid a conflict of interest between GNWT roles as intervener and regulator?