Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Premier for that information. It has never been okay since the beginning of the tailing ponds. The issue has never been okay there, yet we've been sending a Minister to do the big leader's jobs, to address this issue and I kind of don't like that; she's downplaying it and passing it off to the Ministers.

Mr. Speaker, the position of Premier holds the highest power in this Legislative Assembly and to stand strong on behalf of the residents of the Northwest Territories, as this case may well be, can the Premier extend an invitation to the Alberta Premier to...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to recognize the Member of Parliament, Mr. Michael McLeod, and welcome him to the House. But this House is my House so he's actually a constituent, Mr. Speaker. And I'd also like to welcome back former colleague, Mr. Jackson Lafferty, who is now the grand chief of the Tlicho Nation. I'd like to congratulate him on that venture and hope him success in many fronts. And I'd also like to recognize Sholto Douglas who is the vicepresident of the NWT Sled Dog Sports. I wasn't sure he was a vicepresident because he always says he's the boss, so I don't know about...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. And mahsi to the Premier for that. It's very imperative that, you know, I want to reiterate that we need as you're the Premier of the Northwest Territories, you're our biggest leader in this government, you need to engage the Alberta Premier who's never met the Indigenous people of the Northwest Territories. And we need to extend that invitation. You can do it how well you want to do that but extend that invitation to meet all Indigenous leaders of the Northwest Territories, not just the Intergovernmental Council, not just the NWT Council of Leaders, but everyone because...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are related to my Member's statement on the recent findings of a tailings pond breech at the Alberta tar sands projects. This may well be a common occurrence until there is no more freshwater to drink, no protection of our wildlife, and our precious marine ecological systems to survive.

Madam Premier, can you apprise this House as to what actions you will take to rectify this situation of nonconformity of the sharing of information by the Alberta government? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken several times of my concerns with the Alberta tailings ponds and the toxic sludge contained within them. Tailings ponds are manmade open reservoirs, the size of lakes, that hold toxic waste from the oil extraction, and they contain arsenic, dissolved heavy metals and hydrocarbons. These tailings ponds are large enough to be seen from space and are some of the biggest human made structures on earth.

Mr. Speaker, many First Nations downstream from the Alberta tar sands tailings ponds have expressed time and time their concerns with the tailing ponds...

Mahsi. Minister.

Mashi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Ambassadors of Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School have returned home safely from a recent trip to Mexico. The Fort Providence contingent made up of 11 students and seven chaperons made the trip February 4th to the 12th. The trip was spearheaded by the school's child, youth and care counsellor Daphne BlancoSarlay. Daphne's idea is to create at cultural exchange between two Indigenous communities impacted by colonialism in what's called Connecting through Kindness. The city of Tulum, Mexico has a population of under 20,000 residents and is one hour south...

Minister.

Mahsi. Minister.