Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Of course, he managed to forget that there was no public engagement. But presumably the land withdrawal for reindeer grazing offered some conservation value to other species in the area, including migratory waterfowl, bears, and perhaps others.

Can the Minister tell us whether his department researched the conservation value of the land withdrawal for other species before deciding to drastically reduce its size and can he share any such assessment with the public? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress.

Merci, Monsieur le President. It's Valentine's Day and I want to send some love to our colleagues on the other side.

On September 2nd, 2022, Cabinet significantly reduced the size of the land withdrawal for the reindeer grazing reserve. It’s hard to tell how big the reductions are as there are no publicly available maps or calculations. But it has to be at least 75 percent. The reindeer grazing reserve and land withdrawal were first established in 1933 and then significantly expanded in 1952. I acknowledge that GNWT did consult the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in while reviewing the land withdrawal. I...

Wow, that's great. I got a happy Minister and a happy MLA. Okay, so can you tell me how many apprenticeship positions are created and how successful you folks are in actually getting those positions filled? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Okay, all right. So thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to the Minister and the staff. So what is NWT Housing going to use these plans for when are they used in developing the capital plan for the housing corp, or what specifically are these plans used for now? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. And I'm just not sure where these two topics fit in because the descriptions of the activities are sometimes not very helpful, at least for me, in understanding what is happening. But community housing plans, where are we at with community housing plans? Were there any completed in the last year; how many are done; how many more to go; and what does the let's start with that. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table the following two documents: One, "Conservatives eye Arctic Reindeer Reserve for Oil and Gas" by the Canadian Press posted February 20th, 2014; and number two, Mr. Speaker, Yukon Government Carbon Rebate Act. Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. So from the questions I asked yesterday, it seems that the sumps and contaminated soils are not covered in the current land use permit or the abandonment agreement that's been negotiated with ELM. It's not clear whether all the closure and reclamation work is sorry, can the Minister tell us whether the current contract with ELM and the land use permit cover all the work that's going to be required at Cameron Hills? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Lands, again on the preventable public liabilities at the Cameron Hills sour gas field.

Can the Minister tell us whether there's anyone from the Northwest Territories working at the site for Environmental Liabilities Management Incorporated or any of its subcontractors? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Of course it's question period; we don't actually expect to get answers here but, you know, I asked whether there had been any assessment of other conservation values. The Minister didn't respond. There are authorities and plans in the reindeer reserve area, including the Gwich'in land use plan and Inuvialuit community conservation plans.

Can the Minister tell us whether the reductions in the land withdrawal are in compliance and consistent with these plans and whether the Gwich'in Land Use Planning Board and the Inuvialuit Joint Secretariat were consulted? Merci...