Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to use this opportunity of question period to follow up on a question I had asked Mr. Miltenberger some time ago. At the time I had mentioned Gold Corp. It was a 1990 company faced with a problem. They knew they were sitting on a fortune of gold but didn’t know how to access it. They found a solution by inviting the world to help them find a solution to their particular problem.
Giant Mine has a problem. It’s been under care and maintenance of $1.9 million a year for in perpetuity to protect us from the arsenic environmental problem. I’ve asked the Environment Minister, Minister Miltenberger, to see if there’s a way we can invite the world to help us solve this problem by putting the information out there and inviting the world to come capture a reward, and I’ve suggested even in the range of $10 million to finally help us deal with this problem once and for all.
I’m asking the Minister, what headway has been made on this, what I would call an environmental initiative idea.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On that specific issue, since our last discussion there hasn’t been a lot done. The issue of looking at that whole process, I have read some interesting literature about the value of that kind of approach that the Member has raised, but in terms of finding $10 million and putting up a prize for the best scientific solution has not been seriously looked at.
I don’t think the $10 million prize is actually the problem. I think that’s something we could engage the federal government in, because as we all know, AANDC pays that $1.9 million for care and maintenance, again, for in perpetuity, so it’s not just my lifetime, it’s everybody’s lifetime, forever.
Would the Minister be willing to take this project on with an eye of what’s best for the Northwest Territories and propose it to the federal government through AANDC and ask them that if we could maybe run the logistical administrative side of reaching out to the world on this particular problem could they help us with the financial end of the problem, because they could be on the hook forever for a lot of money. This could save the federal government a lot of money, which should be in their best interest.
If there is a wish of committee to have that fulsome discussion about that particular initiative at this stage when we have 278 days left in the life of this government, we would, of course, sit with committee to have that discussion and possibly flag this issue for consideration in the 18th Assembly.
The Gold Corp found the solution and certainly a fortune by engaging the world basically pre-Internet days. This could be an administrative solution created by the government, and I dare not try to put a dollar amount because I’m not in a position to even estimate what it could be, but could the Minister at least dedicate some interest and resources to finding out how complicated it would be for us to create a platform and a porthole to invite the world to challenge this particular problem? Because just to say clearly, someone from anywhere, any pocket, any corner of the world could have an idea how to deal with the arsenic solution in an environmentally sustainable way once and for all, which is what we all want.
We know that it’s technically possible. We know that it’s practically possible. We know that there are examples of where it has been used and there has been success. The example that the Member has raised is one. They’ve also come up with some very, very interesting ones in other technological areas like health with the lab on a chip and the type of work where they’re going to create in the next few months an actual tricorder from the old Star Trek days that is actually going to work and do what people just thought about in the ’60’s.
We know that that process works. What we need to have is the time and the discussion about how we would do and how would we fund it. It’s a political decision. It’s a program decision. It’s a policy decision, and we’d like to try that but we haven’t applied ourselves seriously, given our long list of other priorities on that particular initiative.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I guess that’s kind of what I’m asking, is would the Minister be willing to apply himself and certainly the department to examining the scope of this particular problem? Banting gave his gift to the world with insulin. We could be giving our gift to the world by protecting them from the arsenic trioxide that could poison the world. All we need is a little bit of initiative and foresight on this problem not to see it as a short gain but as a long gain for environmental stewardship, and that’s what I’m asking the Minister.
Would he be willing to at least look at the scope of this type of challenge and see where we could go from there?
I would point out, once again, we’re 278 days from the end of the government until the next election and that every department and government is now fully applying themselves to the budget process, getting ready for the business planning process and building the transition documents, and there are clear capacity issues and limit issues, so I will commit to the Member that I will have another discussion with the deputy and the senior officials about this issue. But I would point out, once again, and I’m speaking for myself personally as Minister, that by the time I get through the day with all of my other responsibilities, my ability to take on and the ability of the departments that I’m responsible for, and I know from what I’ve seen from all my colleagues’ ability to take on new priorities at this date is problematic, especially when it’s just raised by one Member in the House and we have a long list of things that we’ve been tasked to do.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
