Robert Hawkins

[English translation not provided.]

I am practicing my French, and some days I practice better than others.

Mr. Speaker, what I was trying to say there was today’s final statement will be on fracking technology. Our environment, our water and our land are very important.

Industry is working very hard to reduce the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. General Electric and Statoil, a Norwegian oil and gas producer, are working on waterless fracking. Instead of water, these companies plan to use supercritical carbon dioxide to enable the flow of gas and oil to their wells.

Su...

Mr. Speaker, I’ve been taking several calls from various families across the North, be it Inuvik, Yellowknife or even Hay River, and frankly, they are all expressing similar concerns about access to services on the ground and timely access to services on the ground that are relevant to the need.

Maybe the Minister can provide some update to that, because folks are feeling boxed in and powerless to be able to help under the present act. Maybe if the Minister could talk about those areas. What other areas can we do in that little space between today and when the new act becomes official, because...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This Assembly’s very loyal and dedicated committee has some opening remarks, and I’d like to now read them officially in the record.

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure sees the development of the Economic Opportunities and Mineral Development Strategies as major initiatives of the 17th Legislative Assembly. The policy direction of these strategies and their implementation and action plans will have significant barriers on the work of the government departments and the economic direction of the Northwest Territories over the next 10 to 20...

The barriers of the current act must be overcome as quickly as possible, because access must be unobstructed in all regions of our territory. I’ve heard from people who’ve contacted me directly from Inuvik, Hay River, Fort Smith and I’ve even talked to families here in Yellowknife and they’re all saying the same thing, that the families are struggling and they really want to help but they feel powerless. Professionals have told me that they feel handcuffed because their act is archaic. So many other things have been said as well.

Concerns such as lack of community treatment provisions in a...

Thank you. I think he at least did the proviso at the very end and I just want to be very clear on that. Would the Minister make sure that there is an access point so that the public can provide their perspectives on the fire season and if they have whatever type of info that they can provide, that is made available to the public? There are a lot of people who would like to provide suggestions, and it’s not just that they’re angry or anything, they just want to help. We have people wanting to do stuff. Let’s give them the chance to provide that opportunity because it is very meaningful. Thank...

All very good questions by the Minister and I’m happy to answer them. Trappers and folks who own cabins are very concerned about the fire season. They are trying to understand why things, for example, resources weren’t used certain ways, why sprinklers weren’t accessed, why information wasn’t timely. The long and short of it is simply this: I think the suggestion is great, which is if ENR, for example, hosted a public meeting at the Legislature here, maybe in a couple of the communities where it is relevant, and welcomed input from the people who were impacted by the fires. The only thing that...

Yes, sir.

I’d hate to think the program was successful and that was why we cancelled it. Maybe the Minister can talk about the interim solutions we can offer these families who have young people who want to start their careers. They like the ideas of trades. I mean, the Minister is so focused in on the end portion where they’ve gone through the trades program and they’ve graduated and moved on. I’m trying to get people into the program who want a fresh start at life, and it’s our job to ensure that we give them a great start.

What exists for these folks who need these pre-employment programs, these pre...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Greatly appreciated. I have a question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Some time ago there were some pre-employment programs funded through SFA, and this is where it’s unfortunate to say this, but we know that all school education programs are not created equal and some kids graduate without the skills to get into trades programming. There was a pre-trades program available for youth so we could help them move forward on their career to be part of society in a very productive way.

Can I ask the Minister, what happened to that program and how was it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 on the agenda, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

---Unanimous consent granted