Wally Schumann

Actually, they have already reached out to me. We set up a tentative date, and they could not make that date. I said that I would make myself available, but before I commit to doing that I told them that I wanted an agenda of what we want to talk about and who is going to be present at the meeting. I don't have an issue meeting with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am well aware of the Member's relationship with the person who we removed from this board. This guy was on the board for the last 20 years. You have a look at the fishing industry in Hay River and the challenges that we have had around the fishery in the Northwest Territories. The DFO was making changes. They have a governance model that they are looking at changing around the Freshwater Marketing Corporation, and due to the transition of this period that has to take place, I took the precedent of removing this person from the board when his appointment was done and insert our superintendent...

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is following through on our mandate commitment to strengthen connections with our public- and private-sector partners in the transportation infrastructure.

Marine transportation is an essential lifeline for residents and businesses in many small communities of the Northwest Territories. Communities on Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River, and the Western Arctic coast rely on tugboats and barges for the resupply of essential goods and fuel.

With this in mind, the Government of the Northwest Territories continues work to develop, maintain...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 36, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Resources Act, be read for the third time, and, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let's make something very clear here. We didn't just go off and do this on our own. We talked to the law clerk about this issue before we went out and did this, and we got consent from the law clerk that we would be able to share this information. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. What I am going to say about this is these guidance notes will provide guidance when we move forward with this bill, and this will also allow for a public engagement process, so I do not see the need for doing this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's not clear what circumstances under the Oil and Gas Operations Act would require a mandatory public hearing. As a result, we need to maintain some flexibility here. We believe the best approach is to allow the regulator to develop a list of principles that the regulator will apply on a case-by-case basis to decide whether to conduct a public hearing. Should these bills pass, my understanding is that the regulator will be publishing guidelines and interpretation notes to provide additional guidance on the application and administration of its power to conduct public...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our approach to this bill, as I said in the opening comments, was administrative in nature and improving transparency in the bill, as well. When we did public engagement, this was not an issue that was brought up, so it was not brought forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I am pleased to introduce Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Operations Act. The purpose of this bill is to address critical first-step changes to the Oil and Gas Operations Act. Its aim is to enhance transparency and public accountability and address administrative and technical issues with the current legislation.

To enhance transparency and public accountability, this bill proposes extended authorities and requirements for both the Minister and the regulator related to oil and gas activities in the Northwest Territories.

For the regulator, the bill would allow them to...

As I have said in the House, we work very closely with the Tu Cho Co-operative fishermen. We continually meet with them on a regular basis as the plant has moved forward. As all the Members know in this House, the plant is out for tender right now as we speak. We have already bought some of the equipment for this thing. Minister Moses announced a number of funding projects yesterday, and one of them is actually for the lift station to support this plant in Hay River, and we will continue to work with the Tu Cho fishery going forward. We are supporting them and will be assisting them with the...