Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am here to present Bill 26, Statistics Act.

The Northwest Territories is the only jurisdiction in Canada which currently does not have statistics legislation that establishes a legal framework for the collection, protection, and dissemination of statistical information.

The purpose of the legislation is to establish a new Statistics Act for the Northwest Territories that will establish the roles and responsibilities of the Bureau of Statistics; outline data collection, analysis, and data dissemination procedures; describe methods to ensure the confidentiality of...

I think that, in the past budget that we just approved, we did put some money into enhancing the Boots on the Ground Program. I think that it is a great program. I think that we put some money in to enhance that. I do believe, with our conversations with our counterparts over in Nunavut, that we will take some steps to help try and protect the Bathurst caribou herd. This was an initial meeting setting a path forward, and I am not sure if they have had these meetings before. We did share with them our concerns and the concerns from the Aboriginal leadership on this side of the border about the...

Through a jurisdictional review of the climate change programs in Canadian jurisdictions, ENR found that, regardless of the organizational structure, the most important factors in their success were leadership and the authority to act. The GNWT, we believe, has accordingly taken a leadership role on climate change in the territories and organized itself so that climate change is considered at all levels of authority. As the Premier has stated before, at the director level, the ADM, DM, and ministerial committees have been established, and the leadership structure will focus government efforts...

Through a number of the initiatives and strategies that we come forward with, we go out and seek public opinion, consultation with affected stakeholders, and I think it's through that process that they are able to get their input. We have three months left in this Assembly. Again, I can commit to this Chamber that we'll explore the idea of doing something such as that and work with stakeholders. Again, we can make the suggestions, and as we've seen at the beginning of the 18th, it will be upon the Members of the 19th to determine at that time whether this is something that they want to...

Again, recognizing the importance of the voices of the youth in the Northwest Territories, I believe it was in the Assembly before that we actually had a youth forum that the Premier of the day had implemented, and we got feedback from a lot of youth across the Northwest Territories. I think that there is some merit in the Member's suggestion. It is something that we could talk with the young people of the Northwest Territories about as potentially having, working with Education, some type of a climate change symposium, where we could get their opinion on what they would like to see taught in...

The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway was a great project and was well-received. Being up in the Beau-Del at times, being on the highway, I see the number of people who are on it, the number of people who are going to Inuvik, actually, to do a lot of their shopping, and I am sure it has reduced their cost of living because they are picking up things in Inuvik. As far as the overall cost of living in the community itself, I do not have that information at my fingertips. However, I will commit to the Member that we will compile some information and share it with the Members. It's important to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Finance will rise and respond to the Member's questions. The GNWT has met with the federal government on Nutrition North Canada on both the ministerial and official levels on numerous occasions. Most recently, officials have been engaged in discussions around work to make the program more efficient and transparent. The NWT representative for the Nutrition North Advisory Board on this program is a nutritionist from the Beaufort Delta who is well-placed to provide perspective on the needs of Northerners.

That is a very timely question. The GNWT recognizes the importance that our government can play on influencing the market for the goods and services that we procure. Following engagement conducted in 2017-2018, ENR worked closely with the communities on the development of an NWT waste resource management strategy. The strategy is anticipated to be released in the coming month. As part of this strategy, goal number four focused on actions to greening government. Greening government means making decisions about what we buy, how we manage our assets, how we run our business to reduce greenhouse...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated before, we have seen the effects of climate change, especially up in the Beau-Del, long before the rest of the country, and I do believe that we are getting to the point where it is becoming a crisis. We see that. I have said before that, in the Delta, we see ground falling into the water. You look around in the Beaufort and Tuktoyaktuk at the erosion on the shore there; that demonstrates the effect that climate change is having on the North. We recognize that.

The short answer to the Member's question is: yes, I do believe that this is serious enough to be...

We recognize that there are a number of other governments and organizations in the NWT with climate change roles. It would be difficult for me, at this stage of this Assembly, to commit the government to a symposium. Through the transition committee and providing some advice to the incoming 19th, I think that we will hear it during the election period that is coming up; the election is on October 1st. I think that we will hear a lot of concerns about climate change, and I am sure that potential candidates who are running will be telling the constituents their plans for how to deal with this...