Shane Thompson

This year is a new initiative, one-time assistance to provide compensation to people who have had unprecedented damage to property and equipment. However, in saying that, when flooding situations occur in the springtime, we will look at it on a case-by-case basis, and we encourage the Members to get people to reach out to our regional offices to bring forth their concerns.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Presently, ENR is reviewing the community harvest support program and the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program. Members should be happy. Once those two things are completed, ENR will make a commitment to review the hunters and trappers' disaster compensation guideline, and we will have it completed by the end of this year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Since the Member has brought this forward, we at ENR have looked at various options for automatic deposit in Yellowknife. The staff are putting some tech packs and specs together so we know that the equipment we do have to put out there would actually stand up to our weather in the Northwest Territories. We are in the process of looking at that. Thanks to the Member; he keeps on asking us questions. We are working on it, and we are moving forward.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These depots were renewed in July 2020, and they will expire July 31, 2022. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The cost to remediate the site is estimated, included in the listings, unless our reclaimed security amounts held. However, Mr. Speaker, the environmental liability fund, as the Member has said, is an annual appropriation of $2 million. If additional funds are required to cover the cost of remediation for all environmental liability sites, a supplementary estimation will be put forward, at that time, to the House for consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This was a unique situation. Securities were estimated by the federal government and then transferred to the GNWT upon devolution, and the amount held by the Canada Energy Regulator was not disclosed to the GNWT until recently. We did not know that the total amount of security is insufficient. It is unlikely that this particular situation will arise again as we have a robust regulatory system, including updating security requirements for oil and gas and other operations and devolutions since devolution has happened.

It is not top secret. It's a business. It's the company's control plan, and we need to respect that. We work with them through WSCC. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, washroom hygiene is addressed for non-pandemic situations. Changes as a result of outbreak are not covered under these regulations. The WSCC can enforce compliance if increased cleaning practises were identified in employer's control plan. Mr. Speaker, the Member needs to understand, if it's in the plan, we enforce it. If it's not in the plan, then that's where we can't enforce something that's not in the plan...

WSCC does not have authority under the Mine Health and Safety Act to dedicate the segregation of the two, north and southern workers. If it's an identified component of the control plan, the WSCC will enforce to adhere to this.

I would like to thank the Member for that question and for giving it to us in advance because I have to get some really important details out in the open here. In 2019, the GNWT approach to contaminated sites management was released, and we continue to build upon this work. The interdepartmental contaminated sites committee and working group have formed to coordinate and implement this work. It is anticipated the work plan will be finalized in the spring of 2021. Over the years since devolution, the GNWT has also worked with the land and water resource boards and the federal government to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As everybody is aware, right now, we have a receiver in place who is looking after all aspects of it. Right now, they are making sure that regulatory compliance is followed and considering options to transfer the site to another operator through a sale process. However, it might be possible we might get small parts or the whole transferred back to us if we cannot find a company to take it over. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.