Rylund Johnson

I guess what I'm getting at, this is the same kind of issue with contaminated sites, is that they lie within ENR, Lands, and then a bit with EIA, as well. I guess what I'm looking for is, you know, this is largely a political discussion, but whether the Minister is willing to look into if there is any benefit to keeping all of our securities expertise spread out in different departments, along with contaminated sites. I recognize OROGO has to be separate, and I recognize EIA has to have theirs, and I know no one ever wants to talk about corporate restructuring, but I was hoping the Minister...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I was hoping the Minister could give me an update in relation to the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations under the Fisheries Act, and any work being done under our corresponding Waters Act.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess, kind of, moving on and in a similar vein, we do have a reindeer herd, which is not wildlife, although it is the responsibility of ENR. Along the same vein, I question why I do not see reindeer on more and more menus, why I cannot buy it in the grocery store. Can I get a sense from the department of what is going on with our reindeer herd and whether we can tap into that as a food source?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd just like to commend the department on all the work they've done on that waste management strategy. There is a lot of good work in there. One of the issues raised in there is that a lot of our waste management facilities have a water licence but are not in compliance with it, so my question is: do we know how many of them are not in compliance, and is there some sort of timeline to get them in compliance with their water licences?

Despite the municipal funding gap, I believe they could probably afford $1. My next question is: I believe that there have been some concerns about surveying the land exactly, in that Commissioner's land is in large parcels and is not exactly surveyed into smaller parcels that a city would often use. I was hoping the Minister of Lands could speak to any issues, if any, that require surveying before we could transfer the land to the City of Yellowknife.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I do recognize there is that contention here. To me, if we are talking about saving the Bathurst caribou herd and we can put an economic value that it's providing thousands and thousands of dollars of meat every single year ideally forever, I guess, I think it helps make those arguments when comparing a Bathurst caribou damage to nonrenewable resource projects. I think this is a conversation for another time, but I do think that economic value has some things.

Another, kind of, core of the North American model of conservation is to not allow market hunting...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess my question is: how does that align with other jurisdictions? I mean, if we're only collecting $55,000, and there are millions of litres of water being used every years, is it possible to increase that fee?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Lands regarding the transfer of Commissioner's land within municipal boundaries. One of the issues that has ran up is that a number of municipal boundaries are in dispute with land claim negotiations as if the land is claimed by an Aboriginal government, and rightfully so. In the case of the City of Yellowknife's request, can I just confirm with the Minister of Lands whether that includes any of the land in the Akaitcho interim land withdrawal?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am wondering if ENR or any department has some sort of evaluation of the monetary value on the meat that local harvesters provide their communities.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I recognize that there is a rather complex way we licence water and use water, and I'm fully supportive of our co-management system. I guess what I'd be looking for from the Minister is kind of a jurisdiction scan of what other jurisdictions charge industrial users for using their water. Ultimately, I think, if you charge people for water, then it incentivizes them to use less water and adopt newer technologies that would put water at less risk of being contaminated. So, if the Minister could provide that information. Thank you.