Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Mr. Speaker, earlier, as I said in my Member's statement, waste from municipalities and industrial activities is often discharged into our water system and eventually into the ocean. My question to the Minister is: what is the status of the Northwest Territories Waste Resource Management Strategy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, marine pollution and litter become a significant concern to coastal countries around the world and here in the Northwest Territories. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, we have recently developed a draft waste management discussion paper to facilitate feedback from stakeholders and community and Aboriginal governments on the development of the study. We anticipate that the waste management discussion paper will be ready for review and comment by Members, stakeholders, and community governments in September. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the information. Mr. Speaker, used vehicle parts and automotive fluids as well as many recyclable items get stuck in remote northern communities and landfill sites. What solutions are we exploring to this issue?
Mr. Speaker, ENR is currently working with its partners at the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs as well as Northwest Territories Association of Communities to support municipal waste management in various capacities. They range from training courses, household hazardous waste collection, and public education material. In addition, the department continues to expand the product stewardship programs that see recyclables removed from the NWT communities for proper disposal. Working with our partners, we are exploring the possibility of establishing a system of coordinated transportation and disposal to help overcome some of the financial, logistical, and technical barriers associated with removing recycled materials and contaminants that are generated from various sectors in the NWT.
Just an example, experience has shown that recycling programs can work successfully in the North as demonstrated by the Beverage Container program and the Electronic Recycle program. The Beverage Container program, or BCP, for example, has reused or recycled over 289 million beverage containers since 2005. Last year alone, BCP kept nearly 1,600 tonnes of material off the land and out of the landfills including 132 tonnes of plastic.
I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, what water quality monitoring activities are underway in the Beaufort Delta region?
Mr. Speaker, as part of the NWT wide-community based Water Quality Monitoring program, ENR works with community partners in Aklavik and Inuvik to monitor water quality near these communities. The CBM program uses different types of water-quality monitoring equipment to collect water quality samples during the ice-free season. These samples are analyzed and address water-related community concerns and questions. Results from the CBM program are available on the Mackenzie DataStream system and have been shared through regional meetings, brochures, and posters.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, my final question to the Minister is: how are we working with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans on environmental management issues surrounding increased shipping, traffic in the Northwest Passage? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Mr. Speaker, shipping and shipping-related activities are administered and regulated under the Canadian Shipping Act and Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act which falls under the purview of Transport Canada. ENR recently participated in Transport Canada's panel discussion as part of their tanker safety expert review process, and we also participated in an Environment and Climate Change Canada science table that was formed to respond to the grounding of the barge in Tuktoyaktuk. Any opportunity we have, Mr. Speaker, to bring it to the attention of our federal counterparts, we use that opportunity. We recognize that, with the increased traffic flowing through the Northwest Passage coming into our neck of the woods, then we need to be updated as to all these. As a matter of fact, we are having a meeting in Whitehorse in a couple of weeks of Ministers of the Environment and we will continue to have those discussions, raising our concerns with Ottawa.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
