Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have met with the Member a number of times and had a considerable amount of correspondence. We’ve discussed the steps forward. The next most immediate step is going to be we’ve agreed we’re going to collectively write to the leadership in the Sahtu and we’ll pose a number of questions to them. Some very basic ones, like taking authorities that now lie at the community level and making decisions about alcohol, taking some responsibilities like the decisions over liquor store restrictions, and those types of things from the community level to a regional level, and a...

Mr. Speaker, this is one of the largest environmental sites that require cleanup in the entire country of Canada. We are fully committed to the process to make sure that remediation plan is developed and agreed to, and the oversight plan is being worked on and hopefully is finally agreed to.

We recognize that this site and the responsibilities will be with us long into the future. We are here for the long haul, as are all of the people of the North, and our commitment is to make sure that that site meets the standard today and tomorrow and far into the future in terms of what is required for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I as Minister attended the meeting in March where this issue was at the tail end of the workshop. We committed to the process. We have been involved since then. We are still part of the process. We are committed to coming up with, hopefully, a consensus on the way forward in terms of oversight and mediation through the process. The Member’s comment about needing to do it long into the future is a recognized fact as well. Thank you.

I appreciate the Member’s advice and will ensure that the Premier is fully briefed with all the information he needs to make a compelling argument in discussion with his colleagues in Iqaluit. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2012-2013, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the first question, I can just indicate to the Member that in my time as Finance Minister, it’s not been an issue that I have broached with the Minister of Finance with the federal government, and it’s been, I think, probably three or four years since there has been any adjustment. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2012-2013, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, June 15, 2012, I will move that Bill 10, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 7, 2010-2011, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard the Member’s concern. Finance and the liquor folks are tracking their sales or consumption, the off-sales to individuals. We’ll check with the RCMP. We’ll make sure that we track their detailing and their statistics of all the potential charges or charges that they do lay. We will also be looking at the court dockets, things we are currently doing, as well, to make sure that we are as thorough as possible trying to track this issue.

I will remind the Member, once again, he and I have had this discussion. The issue of liquor store hours is only one part of the alcohol...

Mr. Speaker, we have to keep in mind, as well, we don’t want to give people the impression that the people of the Sahtu are now turning into consumers of alcohol way above what is normal there. The Sahtu, as well, has the benefit, and will continue to have the benefit, of an economic boom with the tight oil play that is going on there and the amount of people coming there. It all contributes to more activity, money and people in the region that don’t currently necessarily reside there.

We’ll look at the information that comes back from the letters. The Member and I will have a discussion and we...