Michael Miltenberger

There has been work done through the FireSmart Program. It is not heavily resourced. What we have been doing is trying to work with municipalities, with individuals to make sure they fire smart their own properties, and where there’s an opportunity early in the fire season or when there’s a lull in fire season and if the crews are available, we’ve been putting those crews to work, as well, in the various communities, trying to look at firebreaks and the thinning of brush and the removable of flammable under-forest to help limit the spread of fire. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve got all the traditional forces together. The fire crews are back on. The fixed-wing resources or assets are there, as are the rotary wing. We have, as well, looked at the meteorological reports. We anticipate, and predictions are, extreme drought in the southern part of the territory, both the South Slave and the Deh Cho. So, we have folks on high alert. We’ve made alternate arrangements for, as well, a DC-6 from Airspray to be available and we will be making use of the MARS agreement, should the need arise over the course of the fire season.

The cool, somewhat...

Yes, we will ensure that, as usual, folks are ready. This is the time of year, as well, where there’s a dusting off of emergency measure plans and the need for, as the Member indicated, a communication between Health and fire and in the event of heavy smoke that everybody knows what to do when that situation arises. Thank you.

We proceed by the policies laid out and directly laid out through the values at risk. I appreciate the Member’s concern, because smoke can travel a long way. I will talk to the department about the fires the Member is mentioning, to see what is in fact possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a government, we have been aware of this issue now for some time. It was brought up in this House, if I recollect, very clearly in the last government. There was a commitment made that once the Wildlife Act was passed that we would be moving on to the Forestry Act. It is outdated and right now does not give us legal authority to manage things like the morel mushrooms. We recognize that.

At the same time, we’ve worked with the communities, we’ve worked with ITI, ITI has been providing business support to the Member’s constituents and we as a department have been...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize two members of the best negotiating team for transboundary water negotiations in the country: the lead negotiator, Merrell-Ann Phare; and one of the best scientists in the country, Dr. Erin Kelly, who works for the Government of the Northwest Territories and just concluded some negotiations with BC today. They are part of the best team, so I’d like to welcome them to the House.

We will continue to deal with the issue of morel harvesters as we have in the past, recognizing that it’s work and a process that needs improving, which we are embarking on, and we will continue to work with the Member and with other communities where this issue comes, depending on where the fires are, and what happens with the morel harvest itself. Right now we have to deal with the tools we have, but we are committed to improving our ability to regulate that particular transient industry.

As we’ve dealt with this issue, it has evolved over the years. The morel mushrooms tend to follow the season after the fire season. So as fires have come and gone across the Northwest Territories, the issue of morel mushrooms has come up in the South Slave, outside of Yellowknife, in the Member’s constituency, and we’ve been looking at ways to try to deal with and make sure we can manage within the incoming of significant numbers of pickers, given the amount of morel mushrooms. But it is a very transient, intense industry that’s tied to the brief lifespan of the morel mushrooms. We’ve been...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll try not to get these points of order confused here, but what we have is a questioning of the integrity of a Minister who has duties outside this House, who was on legitimate government business, representing us at an international event, that he was driving, and while I haven’t personally made that drive, I know it takes a considerable amount of time. I think the questioning of the integrity of the Minister that somehow he was out of this House for false pretenses is not really constructive. It is a point of order and Minister McLeod acted with the full knowledge...

Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to return to item 5.

---Unanimous consent granted