Wally Schumann

I don't want to get into a big debate about it, but I think the Member should save his questions for the Department of Education when they get to it. I know that, as I have said, we work closely with them. There is cross-departmental stuff around these things. We have our own apprenticeship program within our department. We have our settlement maintainer positions. There are a number of things that we do around training, but I think his specific question is around: what are we doing about training people around some of these larger projects? As I have said, we work closely with the Department...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2019-2020 Main Estimates for the Department of Infrastructure. The proposed estimates of $264 million reflect an increase of $25.1 million, or 10.5 percent, over the 2018-2019 Main Estimates.

These estimates continue to support the priorities of the 18th Legislative Assembly. Highlights include forced-growth adjustments for utility and maintenance costs of new facilities, increased maintenance and dust control for the Dempster Highway, and increased funding to upgrade and maintain the ferries on the Mackenzie, Liard, and Peel Rivers. These...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is no specific amount for capital for access roads. Those are set on priorities that the government sees as we move towards our transportation plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 36, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Resources Act, be read for the second time.

This bill amends the Petroleum Resources Act to:

clarify the authority of the Minister to delegate to a person the powers, duties, and functions assigned to the Minister;

require the publication of additional notices respecting activities under the act;

require that specified licences be made publicly available;

amend the criteria for an interest-holder to be eligible for Significant Discovery Licence and restrict the term of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All resource projects in the Northwest Territories are reviewed in the same laid-out regulatory regime that we have within the Northwest Territories, according to their scale and scope. We have a multifaceted regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. There is a process to adjust the requirements and make changes within that process, but also, in the Northwest Territories, we have a lot of players. We have the Government of the Northwest Territories and our departments; we have the federal government and their departments; and we have Indigenous governments in the...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 36, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Resource Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, as I said, the bill is with the standing committee, and in it is a benefits agreement, not an impact benefit agreement, as clearly laid out, as I said, in the process under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

We will definitely work closely with them, as we do with many other companies in the Northwest Territories that are trying to get business done here. We want it done right, and we want to help them avoid any red tape unnecessarily to move their projects forward. The nice thing about ITI is that we have developed a Client Services and Community Relations Office within our department, and their role is to help the companies work their way through the regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. We certainly encourage Avalon and Cheetah to work closely with that division and help move their...

Mr. Speaker, securing funding to advance planning and construction of new transportation corridors is a key commitment in this government's mandate. These transformative projects help to connect communities, support employment and training opportunities, increase our resiliency to climate change, and create new social and economic opportunities.

Today, I am pleased to provide an update on the Tlicho all-season road project, an exciting new 97-kilometre highway that will provide year-round access to Whati from Highway No. 3.

Mr. Speaker, the new road to Whati is being developed as a P3 project...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Operations Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.