Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m happy to see devolution to start being implemented here and especially happy because my colleagues and I are able to ask questions and attempt to hold our government accountable for these decisions.
Following up on my earlier questions to ITI on taking over as the oil and gas regulator, I’d like to ask the Premier why is ITI the regulator when we know ITI interprets this role to be one of promoting and subsidizing industry. This is clearly a conflict of interest. Surely, the promoters should not be the regulators. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member should elevate his thinking to where we are presently. We are taking over devolution and we will be taking a Government of the Northwest Territories approach. The Department of Lands will be the lead department in dealing with environmental assessments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to publicly commit to elevating my thinking. Boards are different from departments. Boards make decisions based on evidence that is presented to them. Departments make decisions based on politics. How can we be sure that decisions made by the new regulator will be based on evidence and not based on politics when they are made behind closed doors of the Executive? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There will be three departments that will be involved with the regulatory process. I will emphasize again, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, the boards there will continue to be in existence and they will be making recommendations to the different Ministers responsible. We will have three different departments involved with three responsible Ministers. In our view, having people of the Northwest Territories make the decisions that were formally done in Ottawa, it’s much better and it’s in all of our interests of people of the Northwest Territories to be responsible for decisions that will affect them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are not like Manitoba or Saskatchewan. We have a duty to consult with our Aboriginal partners on every project proposed in the NWT. I would say, in fact, we have a duty to consult with all members of NWT society. An NWT energy board would make that process of consultation clear and transparent.
Why has this government chosen to switch from a public board model to a model that has no possibility for public participation in the decision-making process? Mahsi.
Our territory probably takes most seriously its duty to consult. We consult and we consult and we consult. We will continue to do so. The Member is making assumptions. We will be coordinated and we will consult and listen to the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
As I mentioned before, this is starting to create a pattern. I’m all in favour of dilution…
---Laughter
…devolution, we all are. We want devolution for the people of the NWT, not just to the GNWT Executive. How does the Premier propose to reverse these power grabs and put oil and gas decision-making back in the realm of independent and fair public boards? If he’d like to add how we’re going to do all this public consultation instead of just saying that and creating structures that don’t have any public consultation, I’d be happy to hear that too. Mahsi.
It sounds like the Member would prefer to have the NEB continue to go back to Cabinet of Canada to make the decisions. That’s what he seems to be proposing. What we’re saying is decisions will be made by duly elected government and the Ministers that are involved. We are contracting with NEB. The National Energy Board will continue to be involved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
