Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last couple of weeks we’ve seen many announcements coming from the executive office setting some new course directions for the 17th Legislative Assembly.
Surprisingly, some of these new plot-a-course settings were the first to be heard of by Members, some escaped the due process of the House and others were never properly vetted by standing committees. So my questions today will be for the Premier.
On January 28, 2015, and with only limited notice to Regular Members, the public was made aware of the creation of a volunteer Mining Industry Advisory Board. This board will apparently advise the government on mine regulations and environmental and social standards. Although this may be a creature of the Mineral Development Strategy, this announcement bypassed the vetting and due process of standing committee. Can the Premier indicate why? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We know the Members opposite read every piece of paper that we present and it was prominently identified in the Mineral Development Strategy. Thank you.
I’m sure committee will be commenting on that one. Again on January 28, 2015, the public was made aware of a meeting between our Premier and Prime Minister Harper describing a discussion on sustainable economic development. Part of this discussion involved the completion of the Mackenzie Valley Highway but, more importantly, an all-weather road into the Slave Geologic Province.
Can the Premier indicate to the House when and by what process has the substantiation for this all-weather road into the Slave Geologic Province ever been discussed with Regular Members of the 17th Assembly? Thank you.
I know he’s a new MLA in this 17th Assembly. It was started talking about it in the 16th Assembly and it’s been around ever since, so we’ve been talking about it for at least five years. Thank you.
Thank you. Unfortunately, this was not a priority of the 17th and I can’t make commitments for the 16th or prior Assemblies.
On January 29, 2015, in keeping with surprises, the executive office announced the GNWT is exploring the feasibility of an energy, transportation and communication corridor study along the Mackenzie Valley. Again, to be clear, this was not for any specific infrastructure project but a new bold direction that did escape the vetting process of the Assembly.
Can the Premier indicate to the House where does this feasibility study fit into any of our current framework or action plans for the 17th Assembly? Thank you.
We’ve been looking at a corridor for years, I think for over 40 years since the first Arctic gas pipeline was talked about, and we think that now is the time to go. At the appropriate time, when we have the process clearly laid out, when we have accessed all the funding sources, we will be in a position to more fully describe this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know if we can continue to dredge up old priorities and squeeze them into the 17th Assembly.
Finally, on January 29, 2015, the Premier’s speaking notes at the North Star Gala in Ottawa were made public. Upon review, it’s clear the Premier was there to promote an economic and resource development agenda. Mr. Speaker, I’m very okay with this; however, what was missing from the tonality of this address, and I’m sure most Northerners would agree, there was a need to lower our cost of living in the North.
Can the Premier indicate why no reference to lowering cost of living was mentioned in Ottawa? Thank you.
We always talk about cost of living whenever we go to Ottawa, we just don’t put it in all of our press releases or communiques. We know that we talk to most of the Ministers about the fact that we’re the only jurisdiction in Canada whose population has been declining, and the biggest reason for that is the high cost of living. We’ve benefited from the lower costs of gasoline and heating fuel in the last six months, at least in the larger centres, and we have talked about what can be done taxation-wise or otherwise how we can work with the Government of Canada to reduce the cost of living. The borrowing limit I think will go a long ways to assist us in that regard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Hawkins.
