Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Obviously, with this year’s firefighting season, I am definitely supporting the second part of this training of firefighters at the regional levels and including more and more of that for future years. We know over the next couple of years we are probably going to need more crews on the ground, and even the department mentioned it yesterday that we have these large craft that spread retardant but the actual fires are put out by the crews, by the staff, and I think that we need to make sure that we have a well-trained staff in the Northwest Territories. If we have an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is not a theme day, but I will speak about Junior Kindergarten as well.

It is frustrating on this side. We have talked about this; we have all talked about this from this side of the House. We’ve made motions. We’ve talked in committee rooms about Junior Kindergarten and how it’s being rolled out and how we’ve heard concerns from our education leaders, from our constituents on how this Junior Kindergarten program is being laid out. Still, we get the same responses, and I know we’re getting frustration from this side. Some Members don’t even want to ask questions...

We’re on page 17, Environment and Natural Resources. I’ll defer until we consider all the detail. Page 18, Environment and Natural Resources, conservation assessment and monitoring, infrastructure and investment, $1.498 million.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Deputy Minister Campbell.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Committee, we are on general comments for Environment and Natural Resources. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Committee, we’ll have general comments for Environment and Natural Resources. Next on my list I have Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 115-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2015-2016, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The other general comments that I had, we’ve been kicking around some of the ideas. One of the ideas is: Has the department looked at, as far as the 215s, what the plan is going forward with them? Are there discussions of selling them off? Are there discussions of maybe keeping them until we have operation? The Minister talked about three years left in the contract, but is there discussion of maybe operating the two newer units along with the 215s for a period of time this year or next year and what our capacities are? My understanding is we don’t get a whole ton of...

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Miltenberger.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be supporting this motion as well. In our recent difficulties with long-term beds in Hay River, we also had lots of people from the community say, what’s the future plan.

Obviously, we’re going to need more. The aging population of the Northwest Territories is going to be a factor in Hay River and how do we… We were asking at that time for the 10 long-term care beds to be replaced that were out of the capital budget and now they’re back in, but what are our needs coming forward? I know in November they did a continuing care review and that there are...