Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Chair, as we move forward then through the subsequent phases, we will be working in arrangement with the public to make sure that folks have a clear idea of where we’re going. We’ll have a capacity for feedback. The timelines are very tight that we’re aiming for, which is before summer to have, hopefully, a northern position between ourselves as public government of the Northwest Territories and the Aboriginal governments that are involved in parks about the size of the federal footprint location and what type of potential northern tools would be there. As we move forward, the issue that...

Mr. Speaker, this Legislative Assembly has a vision of strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories. Achieving that vision requires a balanced approach that advances our economic, environmental and social priorities. This government is moving forward on all those fronts.

I would like to take a few moments to speak to the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link Project. On January 12, 2015, the government took the first step towards removing the limitations of our current communications...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Maybe I wasn’t quite as clear as I could have been, but the intent is to move to a 10-year moving average. We haven’t done that yet. That says when we move into next year’s budget that’s what we’re going to be looking at doing as we come forward with the budget plans.

In regards to the $118,000, I’ll ask the deputy to clarify that one particular issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Not that I recollect. We are currently at work with the folks in Lutselk’e on Thaidene Nene. We are looking at northern tools, our first big initiative post-devolution. We also have the five candidate areas that are there that have been waiting for us to put our attention to them post-devolution that were identified through the Protected Areas Strategy, but there haven’t been any other specific conservation areas. I will ask the deputy if he wants to add anything further in case I may have inadvertently misspoken.

Mr. Chair, as the deputy pointed out, there were no takers last go around, so we will go back in and see if there’s any interest at the community level to get this tower built. Thank you.

I’ll take the Member’s advice and review the text to make sure that it’s accurate.

Mr. Chairman, at this point we are putting out that particular project, along with the section of highway, for example, on the Wrigley/Norman Wells, the potential road through the Tlicho, extensive generation work that needs to be done. As ideas, part of a plan, a vision of going forward and that should the borrowing limit be adjusted and allow us to make those investments, then we will be moving forward on whatever projects are going to be funded with all the detailed work that is necessary. At this point it’s...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As part of the review process from last fire season, as we go into the communities and into the regions, that discussion is taking place. We don’t have a big pot of money set aside. We would work with communities. We would work with individuals. We would look at putting the fire crews to work, for example, if they’re not otherwise occupied in communities, to help doing some of that work. Once again, we are encouraging individuals to fire smart all their own properties and whatever resources that communities may have, as well, to add to that. We will work with...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regards to the timber, I just wanted to make the observation, similar to wildlife or anything else that we do, is you can’t manage what you can’t count. So it’s a challenge in all areas. It’s a challenge, for example, with hunting and reporting. We’re working out ways we can get those numbers because it’s absolutely critical, as we see, when you look at managing any kind of resource like that. So, that’s the fundamental goal, not to infringe but on a conservation basis to be able to manage. You can’t manage what you can’t count. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, yes, we’ll look at talking to our colleagues from Lands and such. We can probably get a number of folks that live outside community boundaries. Thank you.

I just noted I didn’t respond to one specific question with regard to waste management and old vehicles. The answer is still the same. It’s on our list and we are going to work our way down there. We have been focusing on getting a territory-wide electronic waste recycling program on the go as our next big initiative. So, once again, it’s a question of time and capacity. There are old vehicles. Mr. Hawkins mentioned tires. We’ve had, as well, the issue of thousands of 45-gallon drums that are littered across the landscape. We know there are a lot of things we need to get to and we do have that...