Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated, we had a number of meetings with different stakeholders on how we can improve the mining situation in the Northwest Territories. If we want to get into specifics, the solutions, I could stand here and probably talk about stuff all day from mining -- from staking in the industry in the Northwest Territories, to go online, to the regulatory process, to better geoscience information available, to junior mining companies, to socio-economic agreements, and how do we deal with Aboriginal governments moving forward, to land claims. As I said, our regulatory...

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. O'Reilly on October 20, 2016, regarding the hydraulic fracturing regulatory system.

I have worked with my colleagues in the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources and Lands, given their different roles in ensuring securities are in place for resource development projects. We have also engaged with the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations.

I would first like to highlight that there is a polluter- pay system to ensure that government is not left paying for cleanups. The polluter-pay principle is fundamental to the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following five documents entitled "Followup Letter to Oral Question 25518(2): Status of Mackenzie Valley Highway Business Case;" "Followup Letter to Oral Question 38618(2): Small Community Restricted Drivers' Licenses;" "Followup Letter to Oral Question 41918(2): Sahtu Winter Road Construction and Maintenance;" "Followup Letter to Oral Question 43018(2): Canol Trail Remediation Project;" and "Followup Letter to Oral Question 43218(2): Brush Cutting along the Dempster Highway."

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I guess previously when I was on the Metis Government Council we have a seat at the board of GSLAC, and GSLAC is a governing board that puts advisory suggestions along with DFO on how we're going to use the lake, and this is one of the areas of discussions how we can re-divide up the lake and make better access points to be considered for the fisherman to access and make a little better living and be able to raise their quota on the lake. These discussions are ongoing. They recently had a meeting as early as last month, and there's discussions still going on. I can state in this House when we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, because we are both from the fishing community of Hay River, how important to get this file moving is. The department is working closely with Freshwater on trying to move this file along. As of the latest briefing that I've got, they were still in discussions with Freshwater Marketing Corporation on getting an MOU and business plan together, and like I say, on my latest briefing, I believe they're going to try to bring something forward here within the next week or so for us to consider. So that's where that's at.

The one thing that I can say is roundup this year was definitely -- it was cheaper than previous roundups that we have attended. As far as doing a cost-benefit analysis of our attendance versus bringing mining to the Northwest Territories, this is a long process for juniors to become a viable mine in the Northwest Territories. One in 1,000 actually becomes a mine, if you look at the stats in the industry. We will be working towards trying to bring those things forward. It will be when we see some development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mineral roundup, as I said last week when we were down there, is an important mission for this government in the Northwest Territories. We went down there and engaged with a number of stakeholders, from prospectors, to mining companies, to juniors, to finance companies, and got input on a number of things around the table, many of which my colleagues on my side have helped me discuss with these people in industry. We need to figure out a way to bring new mining people to the Northwest Territories to create new mining opportunities for the residents of the Northwest...

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Vanthuyne on October 14, 2016, regarding strategic economic investments, specifically the Canadian Federation of Independent Business report and how we are working to improve our score as well as reduce redundancy and improve the frontline services to small businesses.

The 2017 Red Tape Report Card published by the CFIB gives the Northwest Territories a grade "F," stating the next steps for the Government of the Northwest Territories should be to make it a priority to tackle meaningful red tape reduction.

The Department of Industry...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Follow-up Letter to Oral Question 401-18(2): Slave Geological Province Transportation Corridor." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to provide an overview of the Department of Transportation’s efforts to capture economic opportunities at the Yellowknife airport.

The department is taking steps to make the Yellowknife airport financially self-sufficient. By running the airport more like a business, we will be able to make capital improvements, create jobs, and explore opportunities to drive economic growth across the territory. The Yellowknife airport is crucial to the territorial economy and creates 1,000 direct and 2,000 indirect jobs. We need to be sure we are capturing these opportunities...