Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it's a water resource officer that's within the region that is able to provide the same services. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for his answer. I'm a little concerned, though, how the reduction of this position seems to be able to be filled by another position within the department. Does the reduction of this position meet the mandate as set out by this government? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Dr. Kelly.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have water resource officers that are regionally- based positions. They work closely and are cross-appointed with Lands officers as well. Since devolution, the water resource officers have also been cross-appointed and we are working towards cross-appointing them in all of the regions to be environmental protection officers, wildlife officers, forest management officers, and recreational fisheries officers. For compliance, there will be officers there who are able to do multiple tasks. There are other regions where there are not environmental protection officers any longer because some of the other positions have been able to take on those responsibilities within those regions. It’s our understanding that that can happen in the Deh Cho as well and that is why the reduction has occurred in that region. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Dr. Kelly. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank Dr. Kelly for her answer. Again, if I look at the numbers, if you go to page 81, there seems to be more positions in the water resource management area than there is into this environmental area. Some regions have three positions, and they already have one in there. Was this part of the functional review that the department did when they decided to remove this position? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Dr. Kelly.
We have looked at ways across all regions to promote efficiency and effectiveness. That’s one of the reasons that we’ve been doing the cross-appointments but also workload. In some regions, the environmental protection officer has not been required because others can do those duties. It’s our understanding that that is the case in the Deh Cho region and that is why this position has been reduced. Thank you Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Dr. Kelly. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank Dr. Kelly for her answer. I’m just struggling with this whole process that there seems to be redundancies they say in the Deh Cho but in some of the other regions, there’s more positions in there. I’m looking at one region where there are four positions combining these two or we’ll have one. I’m struggling with how this works because you talked about water resources is that area. I’m looking at that page and this page here. There seems to be a large number in certain areas. That is a big concern for me.
It also really pushes my concern that it seems to be the smaller communities that are suffering these reductions here. I’m really, really concerned about that. It goes against what I feel is in the mandate and it also goes against the introduction that talks about the environment in our region. The environment is very important. It is very important for the DFN, and very important for the First Nations and for all municipal governments. By removing this position, it seems to be hindering this. Again, I don’t understand the logic to it if the environment is this important and we’re reducing it to only one position. It really doesn’t say much for the Deh Cho. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I can understand and I take the Member’s point of his concern for the elimination of this position. However, the department is content enough that the water resource person that’s in the region has the ability to do the same function. In Fort Smith, the position was vacant and the person has been eliminated. The North Slave position was also eliminated. The department is very confident that we have the capacity within our existing people in the regions to perform the same function. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Thompson.
I have nothing further. I have kind of spoken my piece and the Minister unfortunately has a difference of opinion than I do. Very empowering or not, they get to make the final decision. Like I said, I respect his opinion and I understand where he’s coming from, but he also has to understand where I’m coming from. I cannot accept this. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Next we have Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to touch briefly on the science agenda and climate change efforts of the department. In my opening comments, I spoke about the excellent work that ENR has done, developing expertise and gathering knowledge on climate change. I wonder if the Minister can explain the relationship of any we have with the Natural Sciences and Engineer Council of Canada in regards to expanding our knowledge on climate change and being of assistance to developing this body of knowledge across Canada. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
I’ll defer to Dr. Kelly.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Dr. Kelly.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department has ongoing research relationships with faculty at several universities across Canada. Many of those studies are related to climate change specifically or indirectly through work we do on wildlife or forest management or water resources. Our relationship with NSERC, with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, is generally through partnerships with academic institutions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Dr. Kelly. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for that answer from the witnesses. Is it an opinion of the Minister that we have a capacity to host our own industrial research chair here in the Northwest Territories to be of the lead on climate change research for Canada’s North? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, as far as the capacity goes, we can look into that but I take the Member’s point though about the – I mean we have a lot that we can share with the rest of the country. We should be leading that as far as climate change and that goes. I mean I will commit to the Members that we will do what we can to ensure that we take a leadership role in this and build our capacity where we’re able to do host these type of events. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that commitment. It’s not just about sharing knowledge too. It’s about encouraging research opportunities and bringing more funding into the North. I know that the Royal Research Institute does a lot of that work and although that’s not this department, it is related to our research opportunities in the North. I just think that if we pursue those kind of opportunities such as installing research chairs, we can greatly increase the amount of funding and research opportunities that come into the North and potentially find another avenue of economic -- well, not economic development necessarily, but every dollar counts, and giving people from across the country and the world opportunities to study and learn in the North, and having a vehicle for that learning would be a great benefit to us all. I think, again, the Northwest Territories has proven itself as a leader in understanding how climate change affects the circumpolar world. I appreciate where the Minister is coming from. I’ll just leave it at that. I welcome that approach. I hope we make progress on this sooner rather than later, especially in regards to the new climate change plan that the Minister is working on through this Department. Thank you. I have nothing further.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the Member's encouragement to the department to try to go out and get as much money as we can. I can tell the Member, though, and I think we get to it later on in the budget document that there is a lot of money that comes into the Northwest Territories through research projects, and we continue to try and explore every opportunity to have money come into the Northwest Territories to do research on climate change and mitigation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to ask the Minister a couple of detailed questions. I'm looking at page 72 and there is some money allocated to the Sahtu land claim beneficiaries to establish baseline data, which seems like a great idea. It prompted a couple of questions for me. The first is: is baseline data being actively collected now in any other region of the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Dr. Kelly.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Baseline data is being collected in all of the regions across the Northwest Territories for multiple purposes; for water, forest management, wildlife, all of the main items that we work on at Environment and Natural Resources. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Dr. Kelly. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's good news to hear. Is there baseline data also being collected on climate change with respect to things like erosion? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Dr. Kelly.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Data is being collected on an ongoing basis related to climate change. Much of that is on water or wildlife or forest management because that's where we're seeing the changes. My understanding is that there have been studies on erosion, but I wouldn't say specifically baseline data collection. There has been study work done on it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Dr. Kelly. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that water and wildlife are important things to measure, but I wonder about the erosion. I've heard my colleague from Nunakput talk about the erosion in Tuktoyaktuk, for example. Is that being studied by other agencies? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I think the erosion in the communities are being looked at by MACA. I could be mistaken, but I do know that the community of Tuktoyaktuk works very closely with MACA on the erosion. As far as the rest of the erosion, I would have to find that information and share it with Members, because it is something that this government and the Government of Canada is going to have a look at is the effects of climate change. You see it as you drive through the Delta with all of the ground falling, so it is a very important topic and it is a direct effect of climate change. I'm sure we will be putting something together, but I will share any findings that I have with the Members. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Minister's commitment to share that information. It seems to me that it's one of the most tangible ways for us to measure the effects of climate change, and especially in making some very significant decisions to relocate some or all of the different communities and their buildings in order to stay out of the way of the ravages of erosion. I have some questions on electronic waste. Is this the right section to ask those? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Yes, it is, Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, when we started our jobs, it seems like a long time ago now, the collection of electronic waste was a hot topic with retailers pushing back against the deposit fee. I'm wondering if the Minister could update me on the implementation of the electronic waste. Is it being collected in every community, and are the fees collected paying for the program? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Dr. Kelly.
They are. The electronic waste is being collected in all of the communities. We weren't expecting the fees to pay for the program in the first year, and I don't think that it is right now. We could get back with specific numbers. I don't have them at this time, but that was not an expectation for the first year of it being implemented. We will be doing a review and speaking with businesses that are doing this program out in the communities and talking to them about the effectiveness of it, and that will be happening shortly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Dr. Kelly. Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. What I understand is that there are two different things going on. One is a review of the financing of the program and the other is a review of the implementation of the program, and we will get some kind of a report on that in the next short while. Is that correct?
Thank you, Ms. Green. Minister McLeod.
