Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I would think that, with the new projects, we would do some consultation with the community, and we will make them aware that, if they have any initiatives that they want to put forward for consideration as the road opens or as they experience a lot of visitors, we will inform them to get their requests in early, and that way we can go through the regular planning process. Thank you.

ENR is part of the Giant Mine Project team and is making sure that GNWT interests are considered in the design and implementation of the project. The project has carried out and is currently revising a labour study to assess the labour market and identify gaps in skill and services in the NWT. This will allow the project team and GNWT departments to focus our training and capacity building to maximize opportunities in the NWT.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The request came from the community leadership in Tuktoyaktuk. Had we received the request in time, I am sure it would have made its way into the operations budget for 2017-2018, but because we had received it after we had debated the budget, we decided to put it into the supplementary. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The priority of the Giant Mine Project is to maximize possible economic opportunities to Indigenous, northern, and local residents and businesses. The contracts for the main construction manager for Giant Mine will be awarded, my understanding is, by the end of December of this year. The purpose of the main construction manager would be to develop and procure subcontractors for the delivery of the project, and by dividing the project into smaller work packages, local employment and business opportunities can be maximized. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, my understanding is this is cross-departmental money. The place we decided to put it through was Executive and Indigenous Affairs. Thank you.

Yes, the overall target for NWT greenhouse gas emissions is a reduction of 30 per cent at the 2005 levels as per the Pan Canadian Framework. We are working with the federal government. They have made opportunities for investment into help us mitigate and adapt to some of the challenges that we are facing, which will in turn help us reach the 30 per cent by 2030.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the explanation from the chair of the committee. If we are thinking of just moving ours forward just so we don't overlap, then I am pretty sure I can support that. I would also like to know if the chair would be willing to contact the Prime Minister of Canada and see if they can move their election date a little further back so we can have ours at the appointed time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think the Minister of Education made a commitment on the evaluation of the process. We are also willing to work with committee to see if anything needs to change. We will go through the regular process as we do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The first thing I want to do is assure the people of the Northwest Territories that the sky is not falling down and we will still continue to have clean climate and we are taking steps to address that. ENR staff have worked very closely with the Office of the Auditor General over the last year. During the time that the Climate Change Strategic Framework was already under development and the input received during the audit is being incorporated and addressed in the address CCSF, the Climate Change Strategic Framework. The Auditor General's Office can only assess work...

No, we'll take that as a comment, Mr. Chair, and we'll continue to keep the committee updated as we develop further into the operations of MTS. Thank you.