Michael Miltenberger

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we’ve exerted our political and moral authority for sure on the water. We’ve spent a significant amount of money with the Water Strategy. We are looking at a land use framework. We are very concerned with environmental protection on an ongoing basis as it comes to contaminated sites and in those types of areas. So we have a very clear and vested interest in those areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, reducing our consumption, reusing materials and recycling waste products are ways that we can all help reduce our impact on the environment. When we do this, we use fewer natural resources and less energy, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and saves money.

Given the opportunity, NWT residents willingly reduce consumption and participate in recycling programs. This is evident in our highly successful Beverage Container Program, with over 100 million

containers returned to date. While we have had some successes, residents are looking to the Government of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a fairly lengthy commitment that the Member requested, so I’ll take that question as notice. Thank you.

We’d be pleased to sit down with the Member and any of the leaders from his constituency, from the communities, to talk about some of the pressing issues that may be out there. We recognize there are resource development initiatives throughout the area and we’d be happy to come to a table to have that discussion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe there are any regulatory impediments. The big impediment would be just access to sufficient resources. Thank you.

The Minister responsible for Public Works laid out all the steps that are currently being taken to make sure that this project goes ahead. It’s 50 percent complete. It’s had some challenges, but it’s going to be, at this point we hope, the final costs will be about 10 percent over the budgeted amount. We are going to work closely, as the Member indicated in his own statement, to stabilize this particular project, where it is right now, sort out the current challenges and then take a critical look, along with the Members, about what we’ve learned from the exercise, how do we go forward and what...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the debt or the $15 million that’s being requested is equivalent to about 10 percent over the initial cost. So that will be $15 million added to our cost as a government. So with the $15 million factored in, as we’ve said, it will shrink our borrowing limit by that equivalent amount. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Floyd Roland will be absent from the House today to attend events related to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to refer as well to some principles, building principles, that were approved by Caucus, Caucus at Blatchford Lake and released to the public where we talk about effective communication as a double-edged sword. For consensus government to work, all Members must agree to respect the confidentiality of information before it is properly made public. Similarly, Members should acknowledge the fact that information was shared in confidence once it has been released.

Mr. Speaker, the point is, properly made public, we’re talking about a lot of other...

That broad policy issue and debate and discussion, I think, has to take place as a Legislature, to lay out whatever specific conventions or protocols that we need to have agreed to, to address the concerns raised by the Member. I know at this point we are doing our planning collectively, looking at June 2011 as the date up to which we could make substantive decisions, but after that we’re planning, recognizing that we’ll be moving into an election year. As a Cabinet, we’ve picked that particular date as a target for us that we’re working back from, recognizing that we’re going to be into a...