Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke about the Alberta tar sands and the pollution that’s coming down from that one specific project. There are also other projects in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan that are also contributing to the pollution of the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister of Environment about monitoring locations along the Great Slave Lake or down the Mackenzie River in terms of the quality of water. Are they checking along the watershed?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a matter of course there are a number of monitoring stations all the way up, down to the Arctic, but the reality is a recent federal panel found that the monitoring as it relates to the oil sands is not sufficient, that it’s confused, that there are new mandates needed. Then Minister Baird announced that they were going to put together a plan and a board that’s going to set up a cutting-edge monitoring protocol. That work is underway. I think they gave themselves 90 days or thereabouts, and that work is underway. There’s a recognition that more has to be done, that the federal government and especially Environment Canada has a lead role to play. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if this new founding has come to light through the federal government, I’m not too sure when the 90 days starts or when it’s running out. What can we do more to give a push to the federal government to make sure these monitoring stations are in place and that they’re monitoring the effects of the Alberta tar sands, amongst other things, that are coming down into the Great Slave Lake or the Mackenzie River? What can we do to push the federal government to get on this right away?
We have the good fortune to have one of our very capable staff, Dr. Erin Kelly, who is going to be involved in the process. As well, we’re going to be talking to Minister Kent about the scope of the project to make sure that they take a broad look at the monitoring that needs to be done and not narrow it down so that it becomes less than adequate. That work is underway, and through our Water Strategy and the negotiations we have on our transboundary, we’re also going to be pursing that very important issue as well. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, could the Minister invite Minister Kent along the Slave River, the Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River, stopping at each section of the river to drink the water, look at the fish, look for himself to really point out the seriousness of the pollution coming down the river? Can the Minister invite the Minister of Environment of the federal government to come down through the Great Slave Lake and to the Mackenzie River?
In point of fact, Minister Kent is in the North for the next couple of days and we will have an opportunity to pass on those very strong concerns to Minister Kent. He will be, as well, taking advantage of the opportunity to visit parts of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, certainly there are some concerns raised by the people along the Mackenzie, in terms of the fish that they are seeing now in their nets. I want to ask if the Minister would raise, again, this issue to the Minister if he could come down during the summer, come down the Mackenzie River, look at the fish, live on the Mackenzie River and see how serious this issue is, or just take him to court for polluting our water? I mean, that’s how serious it is. So I want to ask the Minister that.
The Member has offered two fairly significant extremes: one to invite him up to live in the North and camp on a river, or take him to court. I appreciate the intensity of the Member’s concern and we’re going to look for a more happy medium where we’ll talk to the Minister, we’ll have meetings with him and we’ll raise the concerns about what’s happening south of our borders and the need for strong transboundary agreements and proper monitoring on those major developments such as the oil sands. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, I’m asking the Minister to invite the Minister to come up and live with us along the Mackenzie River for a couple of days, maybe a week, you know, then to see if we get his attention. Right now the federal government is doing nothing. People along the Mackenzie River are complaining about the fish, the water. He doesn’t seem to care. The only way we can get some attention from the federal government is to take him to court. I’ll be very surprised if he makes an announcement in a week or so to putting a water monitoring station along the Mackenzie River, and tell that to the elders whose fish are soft and the livers are black. Tell him that. This is serious stuff here. That’s what I want to ask the Minister here, if he would give this message to the Minister here.
We agree with the Member that this is a very serious issue. It’s been one of the driving priorities of Environment and Natural Resources during the life of this Assembly, has been to bring forward the Water Strategy to engage with the federal family to do the work necessary.
I must give credit where credit is due. INAC at the regional level has been extremely supportive of our efforts. We are going to be meeting with Minister Kent and one of the issues on our agenda is to discuss water concerns that we do have, monitoring issues, transboundary issues, and the need to take all the steps necessary to protect the interests of Northerners and keep our water clean and pure for all time. Thank you
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
