Kieron Testart

Merci, Monsieur le President. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of Bill 1: Western Canada Lottery Act, and commends it to this House.

Introduction

The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to report on its review of Bill 1: Western Canada Lottery Act.

Bill 1, sponsored by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA), repeals the existing Western Canada Lottery Act (WCLA) and replaces it with a new act to establish a Northwest Territories Lottery Commission, under the direction of the Minister, with the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 83, under "grants," we see "fire damage compensation." I am just wondering, in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, how much of this money was spent? I am just wondering about the overall level of subscription. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the knowledge economy emerging and becoming an ever more vital contributor for continued sustainability of northern economic growth, it would seem like a sector this government would seek to stimulate through strategic investments and development and innovation strategy that rewards private sector investment in innovative solutions. This would also prepare us for the coming reality of carbon pricing and green economy solutions to northern mining and manufacturing. For, in the end, innovators will move to jurisdictions that support innovation. That is why I am quite...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department has had its strategies and frameworks implemented before, such as the greenhouse gas emissions strategy, which is one of the areas the Auditor General addressed, and that was one of the big issues. The framework was in place. There was buy-in across government, but nothing actually happened at the end of the day. I know that in some cases around information sharing, MOUs are entered into between GNWT departments. Is this an approach that the Minister will consider moving forward? It is something that the Auditor General recognized that was lacking, the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that is good work, and I look forward to doing it. I just hope that we don't see any further delays with these important pieces of legislation. They are important for the development of the territorial economy, and also in ensuring that we are protecting our environment and managing our environmental liabilities.

The climate change audit that was done by the Auditor General of Canada, who is also the Auditor General of Record for the Northwest Territories, was quite critical of the department's leadership role in climate change as the lead department in government...

Okay. That is an odd arrangement, but I will leave that the Minister to resolve, and I look forward to him reporting back to the House on progress made. Thank you.

My apologies if there's any confusion, Mr. Chair. I think the list is acceptable to me. I'm not sure about the other committee Members. They may have questions for the Minister, but I think being clear about where this money is going, but look, I think one of the best ways we can use these conservation funds is to get them in the hands of people who are doing that work. It seems like the government is doing that, and I appreciate that, notwithstanding concerns about the overall management of the Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program, but it does look like there's more money getting out to do...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The money made available, is it oversubscribed? Are more communities asking for assistance in their wildfire risk plans than the funding currently provides? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the clarification. What is this? The money in the grant, what is it used for by grant recipients? I'm just wondering if we can get just a brief summary of where this money goes and how it benefits the public policy objective of conservation efforts by this government. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. In the forestry management agreements that we currently have in place for industrial purposes, is there a climate change or environmental lens applied to those agreements before they are signed or as they are signed, as they are developed? Thank you.