Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for Minister Miltenberger, ENR, and I’d like to speak about the northern tools. The Minister has stated that the NWT Wildlife Act, the Territorial Parks Act and the Lands Act could be used to protect special areas of the NWT as northern tools, including Thaidene Nene. More specifically, the Minister has stated that Thaidene Nene will likely be protected through a combination of national park legislation and northern tools. This was in Hansard on February 19th. On public lands in the NWT, it’s important that all members of the public are meaningfully engaged in decisions about land use that impact their future.
My first question is: Given the current lack of transparency on what these northern tools actually are, can the Minister provide assurance that the public will be consulted on the exact nature of northern tools, some of which are in federal legislation, devolution legislation that we’ve mirrored without any review by the public, for protection and conservation of NWT lands? Mahsi.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we are a little further down the road with the negotiations and have a much clearer idea of what exactly is going to be considered, the answer would be absolutely yes.
I assume that would be before those tools would be actually applied, so that there was understanding on the basis of…so the public could have real input there.
My second question: Can the Minister provide assurance that there will be a full and early consultation with the public about the concept of Thaidene Nene? Mahsi.
It’s our intent to have a public process and it’s our intent, as we indicated in committee, to structure a process similar to the stakeholders Wildlife Act Advisory Group that was put in place for the work done on the Wildlife Act. Thank you.
I appreciate the Minister’s comments there. I know the Minister is well aware that this is the biggest used recreational area in the Northwest Territories, tens of millions of dollars every year poured into the recreation in that area.
Can the Minister confirm that northern tools will provide for the permanent legislated protection of the surface and subsurface of NWT parks, meeting international and national standards for protected areas? Mahsi.
I can assure the Member and the folks who are listening that we’re going to come up with a plan that balances out our interests with those of Lutselk’e for the small federal footprint. We have some northern tools that the Member is articulating in this House that could be used; some will need to be amended. The ability for permanent withdrawals is not clearly stated in some of the legislation. But as we work towards the final determination of the configuration of what is going to be in place in the Thaidene Nene area with the federal footprint and whatever complement of northern tools are decided on, those factors will be looked at very carefully. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know there are multiple examples of parks in the Northwest Territories that allow the use of motors and hunting and so on.
Will the Minister assure NWT residents that any northern tools used in conjunction with national park legislation for Thaidene Nene will provide protection equivalent to a national park while reflecting the recreational interests of Northerners? Mahsi.
Since we are now post April 1st and we’re onto the path from devolve to evolve, clearly we’re going to design a system of land use and northern tools around Thaidene Nene around whatever federal footprint is there that are going to protect the interests of both the land and Northerners and respect third-party interests and will be designed in the North by Northerners for Northerners. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Time for oral questions has expired.
Colleagues, before we go on today, I just got a note from the wife of Mr. Yakeleya. It says, “I’d like to remind Norman that it’s his birthday tomorrow.” I’d like to wish happy birthday to Mr. Yakeleya for tomorrow. We’ll have cake on the plane.
