Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My question is good news or bad news, which do you want to start with? I’m going to end on a positive note, so I’ll start with the bad news, I guess.

Just like the Members here have indicated, I would have the same and similar concerns about our fiscal plan going forward. The government has spent a lot of money on fire suppression this year. Now we’re talking about an accelerated plan for the Tuk to Inuvik highway, which in one way is a good news story. We’re getting the project done quicker, but how do we afford that speed and, I guess, what gets run over by doing it...

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Next on my list I have Mr. Bromley. General comments.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Miltenberger.

Alright. Does committee agree to continue with general comments on TD 115-17(5)?

I’ll call Committee of the Whole to order. We agreed to consider Tabled Document 115-17(5). I would like to ask the Minister responsible, Minister Miltenberger, to make his opening comments.

If that analysis has been done before, what is the Department of Finance doing currently in taxation to help the Northerners with the cost of living to put more money into their… Are there ways that we can reduce taxes to help people in the Northwest Territories currently?

Sorry, Mr. Speaker, I didn’t hear that response.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my Member’s statement about the forest fire season, I have questions for the Minister of ENR.

Now that all the smoke has cleared, does the department know exactly what the costs of this season’s firefighting was to the government?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to welcome everybody back to the Assembly. It’s been a busy summer throughout the North, and with the record fire season this year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of ENR, the firefighters on the front, all the workers put together that helped protect this territory.

We had over 385 fires and three million hectares of forest destroyed. These people have been working hard for the public of the Northwest Territories, and I know the public appreciates them, especially in areas such as Kakisa and Reid Lake where the fires were right...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question is on maybe an evaluation of the existing or the operations this year.

Have we seen anywhere we can do some cost savings, economies of scale when we have larger fire seasons, and going forward, how do we evaluate that?