Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity today as the lead Minister to provide an update on actions associated with the Managing This Land Strategic Initiative.
The Managing This Land initiative is one of five strategic initiatives that form the backbone of our government’s plan to advance the priorities of the 16th Assembly and advance us toward our vision and goals. The actions planned under this initiative are: continue to develop governance, protect territorial water, work to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts, improve environmental monitoring efforts, and environmental stewardship.
To effectively manage the land, a top priority must be to gain responsibility for the management of land and resources in the Northwest Territories through a devolution agreement with the federal government. We all agree that Northerners should be making decisions about northern resources.
While significant progress has been made on an agreement-in-principle, the structure of the current offer for devolution has a number of issues that we need to resolve before it can be finalized. For example, the resource-sharing component of the agreement has to provide capacity to address the impacts of resource development; capacity to make necessary investments in infrastructure, geosciences and research to facilitate further development; and it has to provide adequate financial resources to carry out the devolved responsibilities both now and in the future. The agreement cannot be structured to provide a disincentive for further development by limiting our ability to benefit from the development of NWT resources.
The action to continue to advance governance also focuses on our government’s commitment to finalize and implement land, resource and self-government agreements. Completing these agreements is an important part of our priorities and is a major component in achieving our goal of a strong and independent North built on partnerships.
A major activity within this initiative is the development of a government land-use framework during 2008–09. There is considerable development activity and conservation initiatives currently taking place in the Northwest Territories, and decisions made today will shape the NWT economy and society for generations to come.
The land-use framework will serve as a guidance document to facilitate consistency in decision making by the GNWT in land-management activities. The framework will identify overall territorial land interests, specific territorial interests in key processes and mechanisms related to land management, and provide strategic direction with respect to advancing and asserting those interests. It will be critical to work with our partners in land management as we define our territorial land interests and clarify our roles and priorities.
Mr. Speaker, the land-use framework will need to align with the NWT water strategy that is a central component of the action to protect territorial water. Protecting our water is a significant priority for the 16th Legislative Assembly. Pressures on the quantity and quality of water resources both within our territory and in surrounding jurisdictions continue to increase, and as a result, the NWT must play a greater leadership role with regard to water-management issues and influencing future management actions.
The development of the water strategy will help identify the actions that need to be taken to properly manage the water resources of the territory and will provide guidance for negotiations on transboundary water-management issues. In addition to this work we are making investments in 2008–09 to improve and upgrade community water-supply systems and provide additional training and support for water treatment–plant operators.
This government is also making significant investments as part of our action to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts. The planned joint committee on climate change will play an important role in advising on our activities in this area in support of this Assembly’s priorities. Alternative energy projects such as wind energy, mini-hydro developments and further use of wood pellets and solar energy are all being advanced.
While also in support of our cost-of-living initiative, there are further activities being pursued by this government to support energy efficiency and conservation. The Ministers’ Energy Coordinating Committee supports the implementation of energy-related actions by the government and is an important component of this initiative’s actions.
An important component to mitigating the impacts of climate change is research to better understand and assess the effects of climate change on NWT transportation systems and community infrastructure. This research will help us to protect existing infrastructure assets, maintain transportation service levels and direct infrastructure needs into the future.
It has been said that if you don’t measure, you cannot manage. The action on improving environmental monitoring will support efforts to monitor the impacts of development on our environment and wildlife. Support for ecoregion mapping will provide a foundation to identify areas for protection and will help guide economic resource activities while ensuring minimal impacts to forest and wildlife resources.
The Western NWT Biophysical Study helps ensure availability of baseline data necessary to assess, mitigate and monitor the environmental impacts of proposed developments and focuses on wildlife, wildlife habitat, forests and air quality.
Investments are also being made to support caribou studies and provide further support to our caribou-management strategy as part of the environmental stewardship action. Further work in this area will include expansion of the waste-recovery program, and consultations have already started on other products that should be included in this successful recycling program. Our plans for this action also include completing and implementing the Species at Risk Act, and work will be undertaken to develop a Wildlife act.
Finally, as lead Minister for the Managing This Land initiative, I recognize the complexity and challenges in the area of land management and the environment. We believe the balancing required for the actions in this initiative are critical as we work together to achieve our long-term vision and goals.
I would also like to thank my Cabinet colleagues who are members of the Managing This Land committee: the Hon. Floyd Roland, Premier; the Hon. Michael Miltenberger; and the Hon. Michael McLeod. I look forward to our ongoing work with this important initiative.
