The Member makes a good point. There is a wide range of numbers in terms of the harvest in the North Slave on the Bathurst; anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 a year, depending on who you talk to. The issue is, and part of the harvest management plan is going to have to deal with the issue, the requirement for mandatory reporting from all harvesters. Right now we can tell how many outfitters there are, how many resident tags there are, but we have no clear idea except on a voluntary basis on the aboriginal harvest. So part of the ability to have a good harvest management plan is to set up a process agreeable to all parties that is going to allow us to get that information so we can count with considerably more accuracy the amount of animals taken out of any given herd, be it the Bathurst, the Cape Bathurst, the Porcupine, Bluenose-West, East, Ahiak, or the Beverly.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of ENR regarding the traditional knowledge policy this government is leading in terms of this very important issue of caribou survival. I want to ask the Minister in terms of the type of involvement. Can he indicate to me the traditional knowledge information from the elders? Is there any indication of records and meetings? The elders have spoken about this issue here and what could be done with the survival of the herd. What have the elders told him?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The elders, aboriginal governments, aboriginal leaders, all Northerners have told us that caribou are of critical importance. I quoted part of a motion that was made in the Dene Assembly in 2007 that exemplifies and gives voice to that concern through our traditional knowledge process. I can point to some very specific things we have done. For example, on the Water Strategy we have done it with an aboriginal oversight committee. We have worked with all the communities up and down the valley. We have held workshops with our Species at Risk Act. We’ve worked very closely with the co-management boards and their representatives to do the drafting the same as we’re doing with the Wildlife Act. We work on a daily basis, almost, on all the caribou issues with the boards constituted through land claims, to deal with various issues like the caribou.
In this region at all the tables that we have had these consultations and work, there’s been a seat for the Akaitcho and for the Yellowknives. I can tell you, unfortunately, for example with the Water Strategy, that the seat has remained unoccupied. With the Species at Risk Act the seat has remained unoccupied. With the Wildlife Act the seat has remained unoccupied. We would be very welcoming and happy to have all the aboriginal governments and their representatives at the table, but we are fully committed to the process of involvement and traditional knowledge.
The Minister has indicated the number of successful points in terms of him getting feedback from the aboriginal governments and leaders, and probably through the elders. I want to ask the Minister in terms of this specific issue of the caribou with respect to what the elders specifically said to him about the issue of the caribou in terms of the survival to the aboriginal people. What has the Minister heard from the elders down the Mackenzie Valley regarding the caribou and how to deal or live with the caribou?
I can point to the two workshops that were held I believe in October, here at the ski chalet, where we brought in representatives from all the stakeholders from around the lake and from some southern jurisdictions. Many of them were elder status, if we use 50 or 60 as the gauge for elder status. The information, insight, exhortation that we got was very similar to what we hear up and down the valley about the value and importance of the caribou, the need to respect the animals, the need to make sure we do the right thing so that our grandchildren and future generations are in fact able to exercise their rights, because there will be caribou going far into the future.
A difference of opinions for the elders; Mr. Miltenberger has used the status of 50 years and over as an elder. If you have that number, then I think you have a few elders sitting around this table here. He also indicated to respect the animals. I guess I wanted to ask what the Minister has heard from the elders. I’ve heard the elders saying they put collars onto our caribou, and the elders don’t like that. They say to take the collars off. What collars are on the animals? That’s showing a real disrespect to the caribou. I want to ask the Minister if he has heard this from the elders, of putting collars on the caribou.
We have heard that concern from some elders, but we also know that if you take the long view that it is actually out of respect, that we’re doing this to try to get the best understanding possible about the caribou, which covers vast tracks of land and moving as only caribou know how they’re going to move, so that we can have the information to make the most informed decision both as co-management boards and as the territorial government. We do it very carefully. We do it with as much involvement of the local aboriginal governments and co-management boards as possible, recognizing that there is a fundamental need for some very basic up-to-date and comprehensive information on numbers.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last summer when we completed the hike on the CANOL Trail, the last 50 miles, the first thing that we did was we went to see the elders and talk about the last 50 miles of the CANOL. The elders talked about the trail and what we should be looking for, because the elders have travelled on that land, similar to what the caribou have travelled. Our elders have travelled all over the land on this vast tract of land. I want to know from the Minister about the involvement and input of elders when they say things about the caribou. It seems that we give more weight to the scientific method of evidence and more weight to decision-making than to our traditional knowledge expertise in the communities. Can the Minister indicate to me, in terms of going forward, that this issue on banning caribou and this specific issue, more weight went on the scientific evidence than the traditional knowledge by our elders?
I would submit to the Member and to this House that, in fact, this government has a very aggressive, very positive, forward-thinking Traditional Knowledge Strategy. It’s formalized. It applies to all government. ENR has a lead role to play, but it’s involved in all the critical work we do with water, with caribou, with legislation, with education, with health. We have made, and we’re going to continue to make, a strong commitment. We’ve invested money. It’s part of our corporate mentality going forward, and it’s recognized as a very fundamental need. Our science agenda makes very, very clear reference to the need to balance both the scientific and the traditional knowledge.
So I would suggest to the Member that he should be congratulating this government on the investment in farsighted attempts they have made and practices they have put into place with traditional knowledge, and we’re going to continue to do that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are addressed to the Finance Minister and the lead Minister for the Refocusing Government committee. I’d like to ask the Minister, in the preparation of the 2010-11 budget by the Minister, what consideration was given to the coordination of energy projects and initiatives to coordinate them into one area or one body, and was that reflected in the budget. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee that plays a very lead role in terms of bringing together all the resources and planning functions that relate to that. Tied into that, in an advisory capacity of course, we have the Climate Change Committee. There are tie-ins with other work that’s being done in terms of electrical rate reviews and those types of things. We’ve also committed to the broad government approach to redo our Greenhouse Gas Strategy, but the central focus for government here in this Assembly has been the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee chaired by my colleague Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thanks to the Minister for that response, but I think he kind of made my point for me. We have a strategy. We have a plan. We have a committee. We don’t have one body, one organization, which takes everything that we are doing in terms of energy and puts it under one roof, which, as I said in my statement, directs the traffic. I think that’s something that’s necessary. I’d like to know from the Minister what sorts of Cabinet discussions have taken place in regard to the possibility of establishing something like an energy secretariat. Thank you.
I’ll restate my answer a little more clearly. The Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee plays that function. It’s comprised of the chair, Minister McLeod, the Premier sits on that, Minister Michael McLeod sits on it, I sit on it, and I believe Minister Robert C. McLeod sits on it as well, and we have some of the senior staff of government as we look at how do we best put into play all the resources we’ve dedicated, as well as making sure we have the appropriate planning processes to best marshal all our forces going forward. Thank you.
I accept the Minister’s response, but again, that plan, the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee does not look beyond the Government of the Northwest Territories. If we’re going to have anything that is going to get us to a good place, we need to involve all the residents of the Territories, not just this government and its employees. Again, there is no one body which is looking at all of the things that we do in terms of energy and putting it under one roof. The Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee, for instance, I don’t believe is involved in an education campaign to try and get people to turn off the lights when they leave a room.
Having said that, I’d like to ask the Minister: we have an NGO who does an awful lot of work for us, the Arctic Energy Alliance. I’d like to know from the Minister why we can’t put them to work for us, either to act as an energy secretariat or to help us develop an NWT-wide coordinated energy plan. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that the territorial government, in fact, looks far beyond its own operations as we look at things like the Taltson hydro project to get power up in the North Slave Geological Province. We’re working with communities to help them get their community energy strategies in place. We are a major funder for the Arctic Energy Alliance, which we, I would point out, have taken from death’s door one Assembly ago and we’ve funded them to the point where now they are doing a significant amount of work with us on conservation, on advice on a lot of other energy initiatives. We have a Biomass Strategy. We’re coming forward with mini-hydro. We’re redoing our Greenhouse Gas Strategy. We’re doing an extensive amount of work as a government, both in our own operations as well trying to plan for the whole Territory, working with communities and other organizations. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I have to thank the Minister for making my point for me. He said we have this, and then we have this, and then we have this, and then we have this. We need a coordinated plan. I would like to know from the Minister, if the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee is so coordinated, where is the plan on paper that I could get from the Minister and when can I have it? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, We have a number of… You can look at departmental strategic plans. You can look at the business plan. You can look at the Energy Plan that is in place along with the Greenhouse Gas Strategy, both of which are in the process of being updated to reflect the changes over the last number of years. We have, of course, the work that we’ve pulled together and offered to committee in terms of briefings on the ongoing work of the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve got some questions today for the lead Minister on the Strategic Initiatives Committee on the Cost of Living. I’d like to start off by saying, obviously, it’s an important issue to everybody across the Northwest Territories. Many of my constituents and everybody else’s constituents all face an exorbitant cost of living. I’d like to ask the Minister what specific areas is her committee currently working on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister responsible for the Strategic Initiatives Committee on the Cost of Living, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to jog the memory of everybody here, Mr. Speaker, the Strategic Initiatives committees were set up at the beginning of this Assembly in order that our government could work across the departments to advance the priorities that were set out by the 16th Assembly. All of the work that we have been doing in these committees -- and there were five committees set up: Building Our Future, Managing This Land, Reducing the Cost of Living, Maximizing Opportunities and Refocusing Government -- had been added to the budgets that we have considered and approved, both in O and M and capital. I understand from Member Bisaro and Member Ramsay today that they would like more information on that. Last time we offered to have a briefing we were told they didn’t really like us very much and they just wanted to talk to Refocusing Government. But we will be happy, as soon as committee has time, to come and give the Members in-depth information on what we’ve been working on.
Just to give the Members a little bit of an update, much of the work of the committee has focused on reducing the cost of living in communities by investing in transportation projects, highways, airports, winter roads, investments in housing to do with the quality issues, as well as to make some changes to income support and the Power Subsidy Program. A lot of our work had to do with energy initiatives, and as Minister Miltenberger mentioned, we have agreed, between all of us, that the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee will take on the two big projects, which is the hydro and electricity review. Once that’s completed, if it gets incorporated into action, it will come back to us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I’d like to ask the Minister, and that’s a good statement that she’s made today, but what specific initiatives has the Cost of Living Strategic Initiatives Committee taken to Cabinet for inclusion in the budget. She talked about a myriad of different things. Specifically, what has that committee taken to Cabinet for inclusion in this year’s budget? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’d be happy to give the Member a list of them, because we have already approved some of them in our capital project last year, and we are into year two and three of those projects. Those are investments in winter roads in the Sahtu area, extending the runway at some of the airports in the Sahtu and other communities. I don’t want to miss out any other communities. We have put investments into the NWT Housing Corporation. We have made investments into income support and power subsidy programs. The money that Minister Miltenberger talked about investing in the Arctic Energy Alliance so that we could give information awareness and investments about benefits to consumers in terms of the cost of living, those come out of this committee. Mr. Speaker, there is a whole list of them that already are in our capital budget. I would be happy to give them a rundown on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will provide them as soon as I can. Thank you.
I would like to ask the lead Minister for the cost of living if her committee is taking a look at the Deh Cho Bridge Project and its potential impact on the cost of living to residents in the North Slave region and all communities serviced by air out of Yellowknife. Has that gotten to her committee? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as the Member is aware, the Deh Cho project is quite advanced and it is in charge of the Minister of Transportation. I believe the Minister of Transportation has answered some questions about cost of living implications. I beg to differ on some of the opinions the Member has on that. I think the Minister, and department, and the government has been willing to provide information that the Member is looking for. Thank you.
I will take that as a no. I guess the other thing I wanted to ask the Minister is how often does the committee meet and whether or not she could share the agendas of the meetings with Regular Members. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, at any time the committee wants to meet with us, we are available. We are ready to give the Member information. I will say it again, that all of the budget items that have gone, that we have talked about in this committee are in our budget to consider. If you would like that identified, we would be happy to do that. Any other documents that the Member wants, I will provide that to him. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to my Member’s statement, in regards to the Robertson report, very simply is that proposed NWT residents will receive the first right to purchase shares and no individual or group could own more than 10 percent of the shares. That was in the Robinson report. Now it seems like we are in the game of selling all possible assets of the Power Corporation, looking at venture capital by way of the Taltson project. I know that at the Beaufort leaders meeting, especially with the Gwich’in leadership, the issue came up in regards to equity partnership or ownership of any sales of the Power Corporation or the possibility of buying them or allowing them to buy into the Taltson project. Has the Premier taken that into consideration? Is that an option that is being considered by this government?
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First and foremost, let’s be clear: we are not selling off pieces of the Power Corporation. We are not selling off our assets. We had a proposal put on the table by ATCO to look at a partnership arrangement. We have not gone down that line to see if, in fact, that is where we are going to go.
We talked about a process of reviewing electricity rates. Review of that was done. We are preparing our response to that. The NTPC report, we are sitting down with Members to go over that report and look at how we go forward on that initiative, but the issue that we need to deal with is how do we expand our abilities to generate electricity in the Northwest Territories that is affordable for people in the Northwest Territories. We looked at some options of that partnership. For example, on the existing Taltson project as it sits, we have partnered up with the Metis and the Akaitcho on the Deze front. On the issue of the ATCO proposal, back in January of 2009, when we sat down in Fort Simpson with the regional leaders, this issue was raised by the regional leaders. Would we be willing to look at a proposal from aboriginal businesses in the Northwest Territories? I informed them at that time, by all means, we are willing to look at that, so that if they felt that they wanted to put a joint proposal in, we are willing to look at those. To date we haven’t got a proposal from them, but the door is open to those types of partnerships. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in the case of request for proposals, government seems to do that a lot. I am just wondering in regards to comments made by the Premier, is there a formal request for proposal that has been put out there in regards to allowing the interested parties or aboriginal organizations or formally some corporations in the Northwest Territories to look at the possibility of partnering on some of these large-scale projects.
Mr. Speaker, the formal arrangement we do have is Deze, as I mentioned. The formal call for proposals on the Power Corporation, we have not done that. We have accepted the actual proposals in the sense of reviewing it, but that hasn’t gone anywhere. I put in a public meeting with the regional leaders back in, as I have stated earlier, January of 2009 in Fort Simpson, said that we are willing to look at a proposal, whether it is joint or a proposal from aboriginal leaders, as well as the meetings held in Dettah in November of 2009. Again, the issue about proposal and open the door, that we would be willing to look at such a proposal if they were to come in. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, again, we are not privy to the ATCO proposal. We haven’t seen it. There have been meetings between the Premier and the Minister of Finance in regards to meetings with Nancy Southern. And yet I know that the Minister is responsible for the Power Corporation. The Minister of Finance is responsible for Finance. I would just like to know in regards to those discussions, if at some point the framework of the ATCO proposal will be put out there so we can get an idea of exactly what is in it, what the benefits are or the advantages or disadvantages are to the people of the Northwest Territories, and also what is it going to cost ourselves as ratepayers in regards to the cost of power if we decide to sell.
Mr. Speaker, over a year ago, I believe, I presented information to Members of this Assembly on what we had received. In fact, there may have been a meeting as well with members to provide that information. At the same time as we laid out our process of how we would look at electricity generation rate subsidies, the Power Corporation itself and this proposal. We have not done any further work on the proposal. There are some very preliminary meetings with some of our senior staff to talk about what that proposal actually meant, if it was a starting position or what. We haven’t gone any further than that. As we decide on these first two pieces on the energy rates regulation piece and the Power Corporation review, we will decide if, in fact, that initial proposal is now ready to go or are we going to deal with these first two reports and go forward on that basis. Thank you.
Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Mr. Speaker, I didn’t hear anything in regards to the meetings held between the Minister of Finance and Nancy Sothern. Was that a pitch for Nancy Southern to come up with $6 million to basically kick-start the Taltson proposal?
Mr. Speaker, it has been our practice, and we talked about the agents and companies but we try to not raise individual members’ names. It is not part of our process in this forum but the proposal or the recent meetings that were held are not tied to that proposal that we initially received. The meetings that Minister Miltenberger spoke of in this House as well as in his budget address was very preliminary talking about would there be interest in looking at partnering up on a project specific basis. Again, we are, as we have shown on Deze already with Taltson, we have partnerships with aboriginal governments in there. We are going to have to continue to work along those lines. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
