Michael Miltenberger

My understanding is that all the affected stakeholders, property owners, were invited to sit on this stakeholders committee to oversee the work, to look at what the issues were and look at the work plan that was being laid out and agreed to. Thank you.

The reality remains, as we’ve said, the focus is going to be on regional type of games, working with the NWT Seniors’ Society and communities to get as many seniors as we can involved. The Member indicated there’s no indication that this isn’t any better, there is no indication that it is better. We know that we can get far more involvement by focusing on working with the communities and the Seniors’ Society. That’s where we’re trying to put the resources we do have available in this area. Thank you.

The reality is that there are far more needs than there are resources. The reality is we make choices every day. The reality is that the focus of the government is on working with all the seniors in the Northwest Territories in all areas of their need, and when it comes to the recreation piece, the interest has been and the indication is that we do a lot of work at the regional level to maximize the involvement of seniors in the communities often who never get any other opportunity to take part in an event such as the regional games.

That’s the focus. I think it’s a very good idea, it maximizes...

Mr. Speaker, there has been, and continues to be, work done with our government through MACA, through Public Works, on the issue of shoreline erosion as it affects the community of Aklavik, as it affects the community of Tuk, the federal government is aware of the issue, and we’re going to continue to work with the communities to deal with this issue. As it accelerates, it may require different types of action, but this has been an issue that has been there for hundreds of years. The sad reality is it seems to be intensifying as the climate warms, and the ice melts and the water levels rise...

Mr. Speaker, we are of the opinion, as well, that climate change and the effect of global warming is no laughing matter and that it’s affecting us that live in the North the fastest and the most intensely. But we must also recognize that there are some nature forces that have been going on since the world began: the river valley erosion, the shore erosion. It’s being speeded up and accelerated by global warming. We recognize that. We’re spending millions of dollars to work with communities to deal with the issues across the North. We’ve taken out some broad government-wide strategies that I...

We, as a 16th Assembly, laid out some very fundamental, basic and laudable principles to address some of those issues. If there is an interest and need to look at that and how do we reconfigure some of our program areas, and if we have to coordinate differently, then I think there would be an opportunity and need for some further discussion with the Members, maybe the Social Programs committee, to get a better sense of how we could collectively look at how we’re going to possibly readjust. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We appreciate the Member’s comments. We are committed, as a government, to working with the communities, through the arrangements. We do have a huge commitment to empowerment and making sure the money flows directly to the communities, recognizing there’s going to be, from time to time, extraordinary or catastrophic situations that require the territorial government to be there, to backstop and to work in collaboration with the communities to sort those issues out, and the commitment is that we’re going to continue to play that role. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as Minister McLeod indicated, communities will not be abandoned. There are opportunities for support under other pots of money, emergency measures money. If there are extraordinary circumstances, then, as the Minister has committed to, the communities will not be left on their own trying to deal with these unplanned extraordinary events. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Over the long term we all agree we want to get in the same place. We recognize that we’re in a time of transition. The Nordic countries, to be sure, have advanced their case much faster over the generations than we have. But as we look at the significant $60 million investment to alternative energy that we are putting out there with a plan with biomass and all these other areas for alternative energy, we must recognize that we still have to maintain the current infrastructure as we transition to a different type of energy generation and, hopefully, distribution. Thank...