The process convention provides that MLAs representing communities or regions affected by an emergency will receive summary operational reports on emergencies that the Government of the Northwest Territories is responding to. It further provides that reports will be provided by the responsible Minister for situations involving one department, and by the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs for situations involving multiple departments.
I also received information from Enbridge, and they stated that their protocol is to inform the government immediately and maintain regular contact with communities, government, and regulators and regular contact during any incident. I can assure the Member that we make MLAs aware as soon as we are made aware.
I thank the Premier for the answer. It kind of answers my third question, but is there a timeline out there that they are able to communicate to the Regular MLAs?
Under the process convention, the government has committed to providing it to MLAs as it becomes available. As soon as we get the indication that is public information or that we are free to share it with the MLAs, whether they have any restrictions on the information but generally we share right away.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Premier for that answer. I guess there is, again, a little bit of delay in getting the information out there, and I appreciate the Premier explaining the process here today in the House. Has the government looked at how information gets out there and how we can improve this information to get to the people of our regions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The process convention that we have may be amended at any time at the agreement of caucus, the executive council, and the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning. We would be happy to consider recommendations for amendments at the appropriate time, and as the Member knows the "Moccasin Telegraph," I guess, as some people refer to it, is a lot faster than any convention, so we will try to take that into consideration. Also, we are prepared to check to see if any reporting -- like for example the oil spill lines, I do not see why MLAs cannot be added to the list and you know eliminate bottleneck so that they are advised at the same time as we are. So we are prepared to be able to look to see if there are lists like that that can be changed to accommodate in the interests of having everybody know on a timely basis.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Lands. Earlier as I mentioned in my Member's statement, TerraX Minerals intends to spend nearly $40 million in the next few years in exploration in around the Yellowknife area, and so, Mr. Speaker, the Yellowknife Peripheral Area Land Use Management Plan describes how lands around the city will be occupied by various users. Can the Minister commit that he will work with his Cabinet colleagues and department staff to make sure the development of this plan will be transparent and include exploration permits? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that the department has done a number of studies to gather information on the Yellowknife Peripheral area, and I can advise also that they had a public telephone survey. So they have sought input from various groups including industry and they will considering, as the plan is developed, current and future land uses and values, they will identify high-quality public sites, culturally significant sites, ecologically sensitive sites, and future economic opportunity sites. So hopefully we will be able to develop a plan that will satisfy, if not everybody completely, at least take into account all those variants' interest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you to the Minister for his reply. Also, Mr. Speaker, TerraX has shown its interest in collaborating with other land users and lease holds in and around the Ingraham Trail area. Can the Minister provide assurances that the GNWT will refrain from awarding additional leases in these areas where mineral exploration permits have already been awarded?
No, I cannot give that guarantee; however, it is important to remember that all leases contain clauses that explicitly note that the lessee does not have rights to the subsurface. That would apply to all leases.
Thank you to the Minister for providing that clarification. Mr. Speaker, part of the Yellowknife Peripheral Area Land Use Management Plan involves developing GIS maps of the area. Can the Minister commit that he will support the inclusion of the NWT Mineral 10-year Data Sets which are publically available online from the GNWT in the plan?
I can advise that we are looking at all sorts of areas and information, including the submissions made by various parties including industry. We would be prepared to look at the NWT Mineral 10-year Data Sets referred to by the Member opposite. As to whether they will be including in the plan, that is to be determined.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, maybe the Minister can answer this last question. It correlates with my line of questioning, but it is relevant to power. The development of a potential or future mine requires significant power, of course, and over the long term development of enough hydro power to support multiple mines could also lower the power rates for both industry as well as residents. Will the Minister commit to working with his colleagues to support the development of safe, reliable, sustainable energy on a scale that will make industrial development economically feasible in the area? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government and the Power Corporation are always interested in development of safe, reliable, sustainable green energy. As to whether for a specific project we would have the resources to have a project on the scale that might be necessary, it would have to be determined by the parties, and I understand that the Power Corporation has been in touch with several industrial groups to discuss that very issue.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As my colleague before mentioned on the incident there related to the Enbridge line 21 referred to, one element of land management is responding to infrastructure. In this case, line 21, several months ago our government first learned of this incident. My question to the Minister of Lands is: what monitoring systems are in place currently after learning from the incident? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, the difficulties with the line included were rather in an area that is the jurisdiction of the National Energy Board, so that would be the primary party that is responsible for issues arising from difficulties with the pipeline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It is common knowledge there from the mirrored legislation and Devolution transfers and terms of the agreement that it is within the NEB jurisdiction on line 21; however, we shall move on because outside the parameters of the right-of-way it is our land, so I think we should take precautionary measures and at least have some method of communication. Therefore, my next question is: are there land inspectors out in that area, in the Fort Simpson area, where the situation is crossing the Mackenzie?
Yes, of course some of the areas adjacent to the pipeline and the right-of-way would be the responsibility of OROGO, and I understand that they do have a procedure under which if there are difficulties those incidents are reported to them. As to the second part of the question, as to whether there are inspectors out there right now, I would have to get back to the Member opposite.
We could answer it now or we can answer it later on as the budget deliberations go. There are resources that need to be approved for the hiring of inspectors. However, a potential catastrophe of this nature would only need the attention that it deserves and the resources to support that. I would encourage the Minister to be forthcoming on the question. Do we have people on the ground looking after our better interest and the health of the environment and the health of the people, knowing the fact that this particular infrastructure is across from the Mackenzie River, and there are a lot of affected communities downstream that could be affected? My question is, I would encourage the Minister to keep us abreast of the learnings of the situation and to please share that with us.
I will keep the Member's office appraised of any developments that are under our jurisdiction. I understand also that the oil company or the transmission company, Enbridge, does as a courtesy advise us of difficulties or issues that they are facing. There has not been a cutback in the number of inspectors that Lands has. I realize of course that this is a serious issue, and I can advise that the department will be monitoring it carefully.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement today I talked about the Finance Minister's budget commitment to explore a tax on sugary drinks. The government's revenue option paper from last year rejected a sugar tax as uneconomic in terms of administration because the expense of implementing it would be greater than the income earned. I was surprised to hear about it in the budget. What has changed the Minister's views in the last year? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have to state the obvious when we talk about diabetes and obesity amongst the Northwest Territories. It is one of the reasons that we have decided to explore this option. The second one is the constant harping from the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is good news, that health is the focus of bringing the tax into consideration. Is that the primary purpose that the Minister sees the Northwest Territories sugar tax serving? That is, will it be a revenue-neutral tax where the savings are reinvested in health measures?
I am sure the Minister of Health and Social Services would like that. One of the reasons that we have decided that we want to do it, we actually already have a letter of support from the Dieticians of Canada with their 6,000 members across the country. I think they have 15 in Northwest Territories. They have provided us with some excellent starting points for our discussions on a sugar tax. We don't know yet about the revenue. These are details we have to work out. As we go into the process, I would be more than pleased to sit down with committee and get their input. Then we will work to put together a good product for the people of the Northwest Territories.
Does the Minister have any preliminary ideas about how he will engage members of the public during the exploration of imposing this tax?
As I said before, we are early in the process, but an issue such as this, this is something that we would need to get a lot of input from committee and the public. As we go through the LPs and introduce an introduction of bills, the opportunity is going to be there for committee to take the bill on the road. We will ensure that we have a lot of good feedback and a good-quality product that we are able to present before the Legislative Assembly.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my new favourite Minister when we can expect him to report back to us about the next steps, such as the introduction of the LP. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my honourable friend from Yellowknife Centre. We are early in the process. We are just starting to put our plan together. As I said, we have already received some fantastic information from the Dieticians of Canada. I am sure we will be getting a lot more information. We will process a lot of this information. We will put a timeline together, and then we will work with committee on seeking their input on our timeline as we go forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to go back to my own favourite Minister, the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. The situation for consumer protection that I described earlier today, I think, is one that requires some improvement. I would like to think there is more to a complaints process than hoping customers can work it out with retailers. Can the Minister tell me what specific actions her department is taking to protect our consumers, tourists, and the reputation of our northern products? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actions that we are currently taking to address the needs of consumers within the Northwest Territories, basically I want to state that we don't get a lot of complaints. First of all, we have only gotten 18 complaints in the last three years. Changes to the act are usually made based on the number of complaints that we receive. We are wondering if that is maybe a communication problem.
In this fiscal year, we have developed a plain-language guide on the current consumer affairs programming and what we do. Within that guide we have where we explain the government's role in consumer protection, we are explaining consumer's rights and their responsibilities, we are explaining the consumer's protections available for the residents of the Northwest Territories in the areas that we currently regulate, and we are providing a simple method by which residents can lodge consumer complaints. This document will be spread widely this coming spring, and we will be looking at a broader campaign to improve consumer awareness. Basically, what we are doing right now is trying to put in awareness that we are there and just letting the consumers know where they can go to for assistance on consumer issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thanks to the Minister for her response. It is good to hear that there is a campaign that is going to get under way, and I look forward to getting a copy of the booklet.
We have a lot of tourists who come through the Northwest Territories, and they really do rely on making sure that our advertising is accurate and fair. I know our government does license tourism operators, although it might be a different Minister. What kind of collaboration is there between MACA, consumer affairs staff, and ITI tourism licensing staff to ensure tourists and the reputation of our Northern products are protected?
The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs regularly works with ITI on consumer-related tourism issues. However, most of them are related to public safety, such as fire protection, etc. Again, we haven't had a lot of complaints. We tend to work when we have complaints in the area. Any time there is an issue, we work cross-departmentally to define those. We also work federally as well, because the federal government also has a role in consumer complaints. When the issues are federal, we will work with them as well to address the issues.
Thanks again to the Minister for that response. Once we promote consumer protection a little bit better, maybe there is going to be a need for better collaboration there too. I am just wondering if the Minister can tell me when the last comprehensive review of the consumer protection act was undertaken?
The last review to the Consumer Protection Act was last updated in 2011. However, it was only looked at in relation to the costofcredit disclosure, so that was the last time that the act was actually reviewed.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. It is good to know that the last time it was looked at was 2011, and I understand that the Minister has a lot on her plate in terms of legislation. We have got 911; City, Towns, and Villages Act; Fire Prevention Act, and so on. It seems to be a long legislative slumber in the department going on. I am not making it a demand for immediate action on this issue of improving consumer protection, but can the Minister commit to placing the need for improved consumer protection into the departmental business planning and report to the standing committee this fall with when we can expect some further improvements in the Consumer Protection Act? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
