Wally Schumann

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I do not believe the relationship with the Tu Cho fishermen are strained. Just because there was an article on CBC and an interview based on what an individual has said in the Northwest Territories, I would not say it is strained. I have talked to most of the fishermen since that article came out, and there is some real concern about what is being put out there by the press and our relationship with ITI and our staff. In particular, I don't appreciate this individual trying to single out our staff in Hay River who are doing a great job on this. He reaches out to the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. ITI worked closely with OROGO and NEB to help ensure that the regulator holds proof of financial responsibility if there is a risk of spills or debris from work or an activity. Clause 9 extends the proof of financial responsibility requirement by requiring the holder of an authorization to ensure that the proof of financial responsibility remains in force for the duration of the work or the activity and for the period of one year after the regulator notifies the holder that all work that had been authorized has been successfully abandoned or decommissioned in accordance...

Good minister.

---Laughter

If there is a need to require specific content in the future, Bill 37 is required to have requirements related to the form or the content of the report outlined in the regulations. ITI staff has spoken with OROGO and the NEB regarding the proposed items that would be required under this motion, and OROGO and the NEB have raised concerns regarding the following: the onerous administrative burden created by some of these items; the lack of clarity and appropriateness of some of these items; duplication between certain items; and an incorrect statutory reference.

It is...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Clause 5 provides the regulator with the authority to hold a public hearing when it determines doing so would be in the public interest. A decision would likely be made by the regulator with input from the chief conservation officer, the chief safety officer, and other senior staff, and will be based on a review of concerns related to a particular application or activity. As I said, it's not clear what circumstances under the Oil and Gas Operations Act would require a mandatory public hearing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will respond to the recommendations in this report by the end of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left is Menzie McEachern, director of mineral and petroleum resources. On my immediate right is Joel Marion, senior legislative advisor. On my far right is Christina Brownlee, the drafter. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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...