Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ECC is working with our Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations across the NWT on our approach to manage potential rightsbased cabins on public land. A new approach must be developed with Indigenous governments and organizations, and those discussions take time. Engagement has started and is ongoing and will continue throughout the summer. ECC is committed to making the improvements, and all this would ideally occur within this life of the government. We need to ensure that we are doing the work respectfully and properly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to give you my opinion but what I can tell you is the Disaster Assistance Policy is not designed to assist from recoveries from all events. It is designed to protect against those widespread events that affect many individuals and properties in a community. Across Canada, disaster assistance programs are not applied to events affecting single properties. The intent of the Disaster Assistance Program is to ensure the continued functioning of a community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of the disaster program is limited to the number of times a property is eligible for disaster assistance through mitigation. Disasters are more and more common and very costly. This limitation is to ensure that mitigation is undertaken where possible. Emergency recovery assistance for KFN is provided under the federal government Emergency Management Assistance Program and not through the GNWT Disaster Assistance Policy. Individuals on KFN Reserve, whose homes were affected by the flood last year, will still be eligible for assistance under the federal program...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, should there be any significant incidents upstream or advancement of regulation development, the GNWT will inform the public as part of the caretaker's role during the elections. So if there's information that needs to be shared, we will make sure we get it out there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Member for the question. Both Alberta and Canada are considering the development of regulatory guidance or regulations to allow for discharge of treated oil sand tailings water to the Athabasca River. Alberta's conducting scientific studies to support the development of regulatory guidance which will outline requirements for oil sands and operations to release treated oil sands tailing water.

As I've stated previously, the GNWT I repeat the GNWT will not support the release of oil sands tailings affluent unless rigorous scientific science demonstrates a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for fire smarting in NWT communities is shared by all. And you heard me in my Minister's statement here, it includes the public, homeowners, local, territorial, and federal governments. All 29 forest communities in the NWT have community wildfire protection plans that help guide them in preparing and responding to wildfires. ECC has worked with communities to make sure their plans are updated and continue to provide ongoing advice and assistance to help them implement their plans. The NWT Association of Communities recently received $20...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said previously, ECC was prepared for a possible early start to this fire season and had crews, helicopter and air tanker on strength in Hay River. ECC staff were able to respond to the fire on the morning it started with the information of the smoke. A helicopter and initial attack crews responded from Hay River immediately. Another Electra from Alberta arrived mid afternoon to assist. But the evening of the day the fire started, four crews and three helicopters were also working to contain the fire. Crews from Wood Buffalo National Park also assisted early in the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Environmental Rights Act Annual Report 20222023; and, the NWT Surface Rights Board Annual Work Plan and Budget (Core Funding) for 20232024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to talk about the village of Fort Simpson's deputy fire chief, Pat Rowe, who retired from the volunteer fire department after 40 plus years of service. Upon returning home from his tour with the army, Pat joined the department in the 1980s. As he said, it was a natural fit, especially after being trained to fight fires in the Armed Forces. As well, it was his way to give back to the community. As he has been quoted in several news articles, it's a job that needs to be done; I just happen to have enough training to make a difference. That's a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was hoping that we would have been in a position to have a lottery or ballot draw during the life of this Assembly. However, there are complex issues related to the issuance of new leases in this area that remains unresolved. It is important that we take the time to discuss and make progress on these issues before we conduct another ballot draw. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.