Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue, I guess, arose partly because of Imperial probably wasn't doing their job by informing people but the other thing is that the Alberta government failed. I'm not sure if it's because it's a Conservative government and not some another one, but anyways. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister tell me what are the next steps this government will take on this matter? More importantly, what steps will they take and what discussions will they have, if any, with the Alberta government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister tell me if any of the Indigenous governments and partners were aware of this spill? Has he been in contact with any of them to find out if they were aware of it prior, because there was media releases out there and, you know, for some reason we didn't pick up on those. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I read in the news that there were two separate environmental incidents tied to the oil sands in northern Alberta. Incidents that this government only became aware of yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, the Alberta energy regulator is aware of the situation and, on February 26, 2023, issued to Imperial Oil, an order pursuant to sections 113 and 241 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. The order, which I will table later today, confirms that since May of 2022, there has been ongoing seepage of industrial wastewater into the environment and the released...

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. So tens of millions of dollars? So is that $10 million or is that going to be a multiple of ten and but I got another I got another question here as well.

So with some of the like, you know right now we're talking also about carbon tax revenue and what you know, what we could actually use it for, and I'm just wondering if, you know, there's an area that we might be able use some of that funding for as well because we're trying to get it back into the hands of the people anyway. And so if you add that in there, what people are already getting, is there an...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to talk a bit about I guess basic income. We're talking we're providing income anyway, assistance to people. And basic income, you know, it's been batted around. We talk about it. There's been, you know, people different jurisdictions have tried it, and some of the things that came out of it it is shown that, you know, people who receive it are less likely to be hospitalized, likely more willing to continue education. It also doesn't discourage people from working. It helps them to, you know, get out there and actually look for work as well. So I'm just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You caught me off guard.

Mr. Speaker, residents of Hay River and surrounding communities rely on the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority to provide them with timely and quality health care. Due to an ongoing and continued shortage of physicians at the facility, residents' personal health is now at risk. My questions are for the Minister for Health and Social Services and are as follows:

What is the current number of physicians at Stanton Territorial Hospital, Inuvik Regional Hospital, Fort Smith Health Centre, and the Hay River Regional Health Centre, and on a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a spill like this could have a devastating effect on the water, aquatic life, mammals, vegetation and that. So, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister tell me what impact his department thinks that may have on the residents, water, aquatic life, animals and that, and vegetation as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of ENR confirm if any of his staff received notification from anybody in the Alberta government about the spills at the Kearl site in Alberta? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, I you know, I think that, you know, with the population base that we have, which is fairly small, our budget isn't that great either. But, you know, we have an opportunity here to try some things out that are innovative and on a small scale and, you know, maybe there is some buy in from the federal government as well. You know, I know it's not a priority but, you know, there's a number of things that aren't priorities that we've been doing. So but, yeah, just a comment there. But I think it's just something that we should look at, we should consider. And I know...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Like I said, is that we're already paying income support anyway and so the difference we'd be looking at is what we're already paying and what's required. So have we actually looked at that cost to see what that what that difference would be to, say, bump it to up to a basic income. Thank you.