Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the biggest challenges for manufacturers is the high cost of operating a manufacturing facility in the Northwest Territories. Will the Minister commit to making this a costed plan that has dollar amounts attached to it so it gets a real sense? The department has done this before with the Economic Opportunity Strategy. Can the Minister make that commitment to put some money behind this one? Not just words and we can actually give a boost to our manufacturing industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Mr. Speaker, I could speak to this directly as I was a manufacturer before I got elected. It’s not always about money. It’s about the process, about getting information out there of what’s directly available to the government of Northwest Territories in particular, about the round of procurement issues. There are these types of challenges. I personally do not think it’s about putting money towards a strategy or off-setting a cost. There’s already a 30 per cent allotment to manufacturers for their product to be in the Northwest Territories and we built here. These are conversations that we are going to have to have with the manufacturers moving forward and what types of challenges we need to address. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s experience and his response on that. I also appreciate that he’s talking about procurement again. Maybe there is a need to look at this. Will the Minister look at procurement including any proposed reforms through the process of the manufacturing strategy? Thank you.
Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These are discussions that we’re going to have like I said with the manufacturing strategy. One thing I can say around procurement: when we go out and have our conversations with members of the public service that do delivery of procurement, there is this discussion around the manufacturers in the Northwest Territories. We highlight who are the manufacturers, which products are available to them, and which communities they are based in, and we are continually educating people within the department on the manufacturers in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Finance and I apologize. I didn’t give him a heads up before getting in here but I’ve had concerns raised to me by constituents about liquor licensing here in Yellowknife. I believe I heard the Minister say earlier in this sitting that he was going to be conducting a review of liquor licensing. I think that that would also include some public engagements. Can the Minister just talk to us a little bit about the scope of that review of liquor licensing? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we were going to look at the liquor licensing across the Northwest Territories, and when the Member stands up to ask his second question, if he would take a little bit of time so that I could pull it up in a briefing note, I would be happy to respond.
I am glad he has done the heavy lifting and he has got his briefing binder on his desk now. I had asked about the scope of the review, and I believe he committed to some public engagements around that. Maybe I could get the Minister to commit to provide more information to this side of the House, and perhaps even to the public about what the scope of this review is going to entail?
I can commit to providing a scope of the review to Members, and then, I think we will be in a position to share that review with the public. As I committed to it, I think earlier in this session, we are hoping to get some public input into the review. I will make that commitment that we will work with Members and make sure we get the information out to the public.
I want to thank the Minister for that, and I know I put him on the spot, but that is what I was hoping to hear. I mentioned earlier how I have had some constituents raise these issues with me. Would the Minister be willing to meet informally with Yellowknife business owners, operators, to discuss improvements to our liquor licensing? Is that something the Minister would be prepared to commit to?
I have had an opportunity to meet with one of the manufacturers here in the capital along with a Member from Yellowknife North, and a very productive meeting. They made a lot of their concerns known, and I think we took that away and we realized that they had a very valid point, so I think we were trying to take steps to address that. There will be an opportunity for the businesses to have input, and if they require a meeting of myself, then, I am sure I can make arrangements to have a sit down with them as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Seniors' Information Handbook, September 2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 852-18(2), Management of Northern Water Resources," and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Questions 864-18(2), Species at Risk Protection of Caribou." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 33, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2018-2019 be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?
---Carried.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 33, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2018-2019 be read for the second time. Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?
---Carried.
I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of the committee? Mr. Beaulieu.
Marsi cho, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the committee would like to consider Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Environmental Protection Act.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. First, a short recess.
---SHORT RECESS
I will now call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Environmental Protection Act. I will ask the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am here to introduce Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Environmental Protection Act.
This bill makes several amendments to the act. It will:
remove the nonapplication provision;
authorize the Minister to determine that discharges are nuisances;
authorize the Minister to establish and make publicly available a register regarding environmental contaminants;
authorize the Minister to exempt persons from complying with the act or regulations in accordance with the regulations in place;
create a new exception to the prohibition against releasing contaminants for discharges authorized under other legislation, and provides that the exception to the prohibition does not apply to nuisance discharges;
allow for regulation of the manufacture, use, installation, removal, and modification of equipment that discharges contaminants, including measures designed to control the release of contaminants; and
provide the Minister with regulationmaking authority, particularly for making air regulations.
The amended EPA will also require persons intending to discharge a contaminant:
to be authorized by this act or the regulations,
to register with the Minister,
to obtain a license or permit, and/or
to provide the prescribed information.
With air quality in the NWT presently unregulated, the amendments I have described will enable the air regulatory gap to be closed through development of air regulations that are tailored for the Northwest Territories context. Significant consultation and engagement on these amendments has been conducted. We feel these amendments strike a good balance between flexibility and reflecting a modern environmental regime. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I will turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment, the committee that considered the bill, for opening comments. Mr. Vanthuyne.
