Michael Nadli

Currently, the Minister has indicated the Dog Act was recently updated. What enforcement options exist within the Dog Act? For example, I think some communities, whether they’re settlements or maybe hamlets, they have perhaps at their leisure with the O and M dollars that MACA commits to hire a bylaw officer. What if some of those communities don’t have bylaw officers? What enforcement options exist within the Dog Act for those communities?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Unbeknown to newcomers to my riding, the sticks people carry are not broomsticks to fly upon; they are weapons to ward off dogs. Dogs running at large in the small communities are a major issue, and it’s time that the current Dog Act showed some teeth. We need to step up enforcement to make our communities safer for both people and animals.

Dogs are an integral part of the northern lifestyle. Some people feel their homes are not complete without an iconic husky. Municipalities, no matter how small, need tools to manage dogs and enforce the bylaws and legislation created in...

It seems, once again, we put great effort in updating legislation and regulations, but then we really leave it to the communities. The Dog Act is basically left for communities to enforce the dog control measures, so my question again to the Minister is: Does MACA offer any training or guidance to communities on dog control matters?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As I stated earlier, my questions are to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs regarding loose dogs in the communities. It’s a common site in one of my communities at least, to see people carrying sticks. I myself have taken walks and you feel safer carrying a stick. At the local communities, some of them being small and remote, some of them are settlements, some of them are hamlets, some of them are band councils.

My question to the Minister is: What tools are available for remote communities to help manage dogs if they have issues in terms of loose dogs in their...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Because of the policy in terms of values at risk where forest fires were started in remote locations and that don’t pose any danger to human lives or infrastructure or buildings of that nature, they’re left to burn. This summer, well, the beginning of September, I had the opportunity to travel down the Dempster to Trout River and we came across a fire that was just smoldering across Morrisey Creek, and at the same time towards Bouvier Creek there was another fire that was just smoldering and wasn...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, and wishes to report to the Assembly that Bill 30 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

Thank you. What we also experienced this summer is we had of course, obviously, frequent highway closures. Of course, we have the main artery between Fort Providence and Yellowknife that of course inconvenienced travellers. If such an occurrence was to happen again, and I hope it does not happen, what would the government do differently? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The summer of 2014 was a record-breaking forest fire season. By the numbers, almost 3 million hectares of boreal forests burned and 384 fires. Suppression involved the efforts of more than 600 firefighters, 10 air tanker groups, nine incident management teams and dozens of helicopters at a cost of around $55 million.

The greatest number of fires was in the South Slave and had a major impact on the Deh Cho riding. By late June the smoke along Highway No. 3 was so thick that the road had to be closed between Fort Providence and Behchoko, the first of many highway closures this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations wishes to report that we are reviewing Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act, and would like to report that additional time is required to complete the review of Bill 12.

This summer was the driest and the hottest. I think there are some initiatives out there that communities could tap into. One example is the FireSmart initiatives. Usually a good time to do those kinds of initiatives, carrying them out, is during the wintertime.

How can we better prepare our communities for forest fires? Mahsi.