Thank you, Minister. Deputy Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. People can make an application. In the case of what you're seeing here, there were none requested. There were no claims requested in 2018-2019. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In regard to that, I know there were some houses that got destroyed in the Delta. Some of my friends lost, I think, two or three houses. There was one floating down the river. I don't know how cumbersome or how hard it is to get the application in to you to get approval, and what's the timeline on that approval? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I would encourage the Member to get his constituents to reach out to our regional offices. They work as efficiently and as quickly as possible. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Next on my list, I have the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Madam Chair. My questions are for the on-the-land unit. Can the Minister provide me with whether we have staff in this, and where are they located?
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Yes, we do have staff, and they are based out of Yellowknife. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Are there any plans for this unit to be moved out regionally, as it seems like on-the-land, we always say everything always ends up in Yellowknife, and this is something that I would consider that a department could run out of a region. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We don't have a lot of staff in this area, and some of them are unfunded right now, so presently we're not looking at relocating them to other regions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Looking at the budget for $3.5 million, could you give me a bit of a breakdown of what that is being spent on, then? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. For that type of detail, I will turn to my deputy minister, with your permission. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Deputy Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That budget covers salaries, wages, and benefits, and also covers grants and contributions and fees related to developing and implementing on-the-land activities, traditional knowledge, traditional economy, country foods, and public education. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to clarify, if it's providing all of those programs, are they travelling out to the regions, or are they doing that just in Yellowknife? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, they do travel out to the regions. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
I'm just going to move to go back to the Community Harvesters Assistance Program. Knowing that the Minister, or the deputy minister, said that this hasn't been reviewed in over 10 years, knowing what we know in our regions, you know, this is a vital program for a lot of our communities. When the deputy minister talks about mentoring and a lot of these things, I think that's what this money will provide to the regional wildlife committees to be able to promote more mentorship.
In this budget, knowing that it hasn't been reviewed, would they reconsider looking at at least raising it, knowing that the cost of living has increased so much over the past 10 years? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We are doing a review. That's part of the process. If we need to, we will come back, after we do our review, to the committee, through the business plan and our process. The other thing right now is we don't have the additional funds to allocate towards that right now. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
I know there was a wide review, and I know that there are concerns on how this gets distributed, but I just feel like the consensus that I've spoken to different Indigenous groups in my region is they say it's just not enough money. There is just not enough money to give out. You have stated that it's all used up every year, so we know that, without even having to do a review, there is not enough money there. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a great program. We're not denying that. We totally agree with you. What we've heard from 18 communities and three regional organizations is to look at how this program is being operated and managed. What we've done is we're making that commitment, so we want to make an informed decision before we come and ask for money without justification. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I have the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Here, in the House, I mentioned before about the cost of living, again, just to echo what the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes has mentioned. I mentioned here before that cost of living is a multi-faceted problem in the North. The cost of groceries is going up constantly, and I believe that this Community Harvesters Assistance Program is one of those ones that just helps. There is nothing but good that comes out of this program, and I think that the Minister really needs to understand that. Even for my constituents, as well, if there is more allocated to this program, it will help offset that cost of living in the North, and this program aligns with our mandate. This is one of those ones that fits perfectly. It makes sense, and we have to do whatever we can to help our residents, in terms of helping them put food on their tables.
I did have one question, though. I'm just listening to other questions. One question that wasn't asked was: how is this CHAP program allocated by region? Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. At this point in time, I can provide that information to you right now: North Slave, $89,000; the Tlicho, $155,000; South Slave, $180,000; Beaufort-Delta, $266,000; Sahtu, $197,000; and the Deh Cho, $187,000. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Do you have any further questions, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh? Are there any further questions on this section? Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I was hoping the Minister could give me an update in relation to the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations under the Fisheries Act, and any work being done under our corresponding Waters Act.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. For details, with your permission, I'll ask the deputy minister to answer that question. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Ms. Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. There are ongoing discussions with the federal government related to this. In fact, we have staff travelling to Ottawa next week to engage in further discussions. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Kelly. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Perhaps I could get the Minister to commit to just providing some more information to the appropriate standing committee on the status of this work. I believe the goal here is to eventually stand those down, if I'm not mistaken.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of ENR.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I will make that commitment to get that to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment, but, so everybody is aware, we are also looking at equivalency presently. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I was hoping I could have the Minister speak to any work we are doing to expand guardianship programs. I know a number of Indigenous governments are looking to expand their guardianship programs, and that overlaps with some of the work ENR is doing, so I am hoping I can get a commitment out of the Minister that we will see more guardianship programs run by Indigenous governments with the assistance of ENR.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of ENR.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We work with Indigenous governments to help them provide the guardianship. We do not push it onto them. We work with them when they are ready, and we try to help them as best we can. Thank you, Madam Chair.
