Thebacha

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

Mr. Speaker, I only became aware of this program very recently. I have no idea whether the department has had the opportunity to look into this program, which may be a model that we should follow. As I mentioned in my response to an earlier question, this is a very important issue that is important to this Cabinet and this government, as brought out in the mandate. So certainly we will look at that model, amongst others. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

I understand, with respect to situations in which there are water licenses, it's ENR's responsibility to inspect. The terms and conditions are set by the various boards and ENR then inspects to ensure compliance.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

Yes, I would, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My witness is Kelly McLaughlin, the director of legislation.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

-- the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016. The purpose of Bill 6 is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed or errors or inconsistencies have been identified. Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:

it must not be controversial;

it must not involve the spending of public funds;

it must not prejudicially affect rights;

it must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.

The departments responsible for the various statutes being amended have reviewed and approved the...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

Thank you.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

In the situation described by the Member opposite, I think it would be the responsibility of the private owner to remediate. However, I do understand that this is a very important issue arising out of our mandate, in which we stated to develop an integrated, comprehensive approach to the management of contaminated sites, including prioritizing, sharing of responsibilities in collaboration with other governments, monitoring any sound financial security system to prevent public liability. So this is a live issue with this government and with this Cabinet, and I understand that currently ENR and...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 36)

Mr. Speaker, Lands has really no role in this issue. As these are privately owned lands, they are under private fee simple title, I understand. I would expect that the owners of those lands are responsible for the remediation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

While we do meet with the RCMP, we do not interfere, if I can put it that way, directly with their day-to-day operations. As I mentioned earlier, I think that the enhanced criminal record checks provided for in the Criminal Records Act are a good idea protecting vulnerable groups. So I am not asking for any change.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

Thank you. In the year 2000, the Criminal Records Act, the federal piece of legislation, came into effect. It provided for an enhanced criminal record check in situations where vulnerable people, either children or other vulnerable people, were involved. This was seen as a way of protecting the vulnerable groups. I appreciate the Member's opposite concerns as there is also balance between individual right and the rights of the vulnerable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.