Michael Miltenberger

This is an issue that has been raised as one of concern as well. For example, the chiefs in the Tlicho region where we were visiting and having our regular meetings with the chiefs about the need to gather around the table and take a broader look, hunting is not the only issue. There are things that we have to better understand as a government, a territory and a Legislature. We’ve made significant investment to try to reduce our carbon footprint to switch off of fossil fuels, to get more involved in provision of renewable energies all in an attempt to mitigate what is now known to be a clear...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll respond to some. On the Tsiigehtchic Health Centre, we’ll take note of the Member’s concern suggesting that it be replaced as opposed to repaired.

The issue of housing and building more units, of course, is one that we’re going to struggle with as we put more money in, but a lot of that is going to be eaten up by the cutbacks of CMHC. That’s on the list. We hear that from every community.

I’m going to ask, Mr. Chairman, if Mr. Guy can talk to the Moose Kerr School, and I’ll ask Mr. Neudorf if he could touch on the transportation issues tied to the Tsiigehtchic...

What we have learned as part of the decline in 1986, 460,000 animals, down to today about 15,000 for the Bathurst, during the prime hunting times a number of years ago, about 15,000 animals, mainly cows, were taken out of the herd. What we have learned since then – as the Member has indicated, no hunting for the last probably four or five years now – is that there are other contributing factors. They all combine together. There are access roads, cumulative impact, rising temperatures and things like in the last two years we’ve burnt four million hectares of forest.

With the pressures on the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Russ Neudorf, deputy minister of Transportation; Paul Guy, deputy minister of Public Works and Services; and Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy secretary to the FMB. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it isn’t very often we can say that weather forecasters were spot-on with their projections; however, this fire season it seems they got it right.

The fire season started very early. In fact, it may be one of the earliest on record. It seemed like the 2014 fire season just spilled over into 2015. There were several hold-over fires from the 2014 season, fires that burned deep over the winter. By early June the numbers and frequency of fire occurrences were record setting. The effect of extended drought was really evident through the South Slave, Deh Cho and North Slave regions. Fire...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “2014-2015 61st Annual Report: Northwest Territories Liquor Commission” and “2014-2015 61st Annual Report: Northwest Territories Liquor Licensing Board and Liquor Enforcement.” Thank you.

We’re turning our attention here as we conclude the capital plan, of course, to planning and being involved in the transition process to identify issues and challenges. As part of that, there will be a proposed legislative agenda, so we are prepared to look at policies that are outdated. We’ve agreed to renew, for example, legislation that we adopted as mirror legislation as part of devolution. This policy, and I agree with the Member, it’s time for it to be looked at and, as he has indicated, formalized in a much more big P way.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The issue of cost of living and the role of the territorial government and the importance of our capital program, I agree with the Member’s comments about that, about the value and the role they play.

I appreciate his comments on the fibre link as well as the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. We will move that project to completion. We will sort through things that need sorting and we will continue on with that. Airport road is in bundle two of the Build Canada Fund. The runway study, there is work being done, I believe, in conjunction with the federal government to look at...

The final harvest decisions on an interim basis will be done before the middle of October. We are in discussions now with all the impacted and affected Aboriginal governments, programs and boards, our Department of ENR. So that will be done.

In the longer term, we are hoping to get the Bluenose-East Management Plan up and running finally. I believe now that the conditions are right, where we can get the attention and interest of all affected parties to gather around the table to work on an ongoing, longer-term plan on the Bathurst herd, which is in the most dire straits. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The fiscal reality is what is driving us all and it’s evidenced quite clearly in the capital plan and we have a much longer list of infrastructure projects than we have money. The issue of prioritizing or having to make choices is always before us. So I appreciate the Member’s frustration on some of these requests.

The Willow River, I’m not sure what the opportunities are. I haven’t talked fully to the Minister of Transportation if there are ways, but we’re now faced with political choices and we’ve capital planned and flexed the process and everything has been through...