Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 8, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, be read for the third time.

In our discussions with the leadership of the Dehcho, the issue of the 45 percent was raised, and through the bilateral process that was one of the items that was put on the table for further discussion. We indicated that we have some flexibility and we are prepared to enter into those discussions with them as we sort through that particular issue.

The key underlying principle, of course, is to make sure that, at the end of the day, we have an adequate balance between land that’s available for development that’s going to help the economy as well as recognizing that there are areas of special...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2013-2014, be read for the third time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories has a critical role to play as part of this process. We devote a considerable amount of public funds to maintaining the secretariat. We work with other stakeholders, the federal government, the Aboriginal governments, the communities. We work through this eight-step process.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 10, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2013-2014, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

This is a critical piece of work. It has a history that dates back to the previous Assembly. We have been working on it diligently. As the Member’s indicated, they see some of the work. Yes, as we move forward to the next stages we will be, as per protocols, working closely with committee in the proper sequence to make sure that they have their input at the front end of this process. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 8, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The ones that are most advanced, of course, are the Edehzhie and there are the other candidate areas mainly in the Deh Cho. The work is being done, as I outlined in my statement to the House, and we intend to keep moving. We do have northern tools that exist and we’re prepared to be more proactive in actually looking at using them and not just talking about using them. We will continue to have discussions with the federal government about the federal designation as well. As I indicated in the House yesterday, I have to have discussions with Minister Kent to that effect...

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2013-2014, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to update the people of the Northwest Territories and our Protected Areas Strategy partners on the implementation of the NWT Protected Areas Strategy.

The Protected Areas Strategy was established in 1999 as an overall framework to guide the work of identifying and establishing protected areas in the Northwest Territories. It was developed in partnership by regional Aboriginal organizations, the federal and territorial governments, environmental non-governmental organizations and industry.

A substantial amount of work has been done under the Strategy. Saoyú...