Thank you very much, Madam Chair. There was a waste management strategy that was published in the fall of 2019, I believe. I'm wondering what has been achieved under that strategy to date. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister.
Thank you, Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. There have been a number of items that have been moved forward on the waste resource management strategy. That strategy is funded from the environment fund, so it's not in this line item. To be honest with you, I can't come up with specifics at this particular moment in time. We are moving along, and we are on target for the action items that are within that waste resource management strategy that we implement with MACA. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I will come back during the environment fund then and ask about the waste management strategy. With that in mind, I'm going to flip to contaminated sites. There is currently $339,000 allocated to contaminated sites. My concern with that is that is millions of dollars sitting within the federal government for remediating contaminated sites. Is this the area where the GNWT would be working to access those millions of dollars to be able to remediate the sites and get Northerners to work? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
For that detail, I would turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The money that is here is for the positions that the department has and the small amount of O and M. There is an environmental liabilities fund for both Giant and, as well, for the whole of government that funds the actual remediation of contaminated sites that finances holds that we work with them on. Right now, our work on contaminated sites is we have an approach to contaminated sites management, and we're developing the policies and procedures under it. We've just finished a jurisdictional scan and are working with multiple departments to determine how we're going to address any gaps or information that we've received through that jurisdictional scan. Our plan is to share it with committee once it has been complete. Our hope is to be able to do that in the near term. With respect to the federal government, my understanding is that Industry, Tourism and Investment has written to the federal government, and we were part of reviewing that response. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. This relates back to the conversation that was had during the corporate management section, so I think I know the answer I'm going to get. Given the focus that this government would like to put onto remediation and a remediation economy, does the Minister feel that the division is adequately staffed, or is this one of those ones where, in order to really get dollars flowing from the federal government along with ITI, there is a need for additional resources to get that done? Or is this division also properly staffed? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. While there are positions that work on contaminated sites that are reflected here because it's part of the departmental budget, there are also positions that work on this at ENR right now that are funded out of the Environmental Liability Fund because of the relationship that I mentioned that we have. We feel that, right now, we have the staff that we need. We are completing the jurisdictional scan to look at what the gaps are and what policies and procedures we need to develop, and we will definitely be doing an assessment of our capacity related to that. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. In regard to the accepted waste sites, the ones that we still have negotiate for devolution, is that the responsibility of this group? Who is responsible for those sites and negotiating whether they are federal or GNWT sites? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This group is involved in the negotiations with the Department of Lands and has conducted the work on these sites up to this point, doing the ESAs, for example. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to echo some of the comments made by my other colleagues. I think there is a need for probably a larger review of who is doing that work, whether it's ITI, ENR, or Lands. I know that the Ptarmigan Mine, the Tom Mine, those federal sites up the Ingraham Trail, there are millions of dollars that the YKDFN is trying to go get out of the going forward as we speak, and the fact that we're not sure whether they're GNWT or Canada sites is a huge barrier to that. I'm saying that to all three Ministers at once who are responsible for this. Can I get an update on when we expect to see the Environmental Protection Act?
Thank you. Minister.
First, I'll just start. In regard to the six sites, we've got a negotiating mandate from the government, from Cabinet. We are now reaching out to the federal government. We're working on that, so that is good news. In regard to when we're going to get the act or the legislation in place, with your permission, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Amendments to the Waters Act and the Environmental Protection Act are dependent on completion of the GNWT's review of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. Once that is complete, we are ready to go on those amendments. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The department's four-year business plan says that the Waters Act will be introduced in quarter four of this fiscal, along with the Environmental Protection Act. Can I just get clarification that that is not actually the case? We will not be introducing those as per the business plan because we are waiting to see what happens with the MVRMA negotiations? Is that what I just heard? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
[Microphone turned off]
Member for Yellowknife North.
Can I get clarification, as ENR is the department I ask questions of, on what's going on with the MVRMA negotiations then? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
That would be EIA. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
Madam Chair, I show some frustration on that. The department has done a lot of work on the EPA and the Waters Act and has spent thousands of dollars working with Indigenous governments and stakeholders. It's in the business plan, and I'm now hearing that we're waiting on the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, which operates on federal timelines. Is that also the case for the Air regulations, that we will then have to delay the Air regulations pending the MVRMA?
Thank you, Member. Minister.
For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We need to do work on the EPA and the Waters Act to determine where Air Regulations ultimately reside. The EPA is not a co-management piece of legislation, while the Waters Act is, and there are questions about how we do the ER regulations. We are in discussions with the land and water boards about how that will work. I would say that part of the reason for waiting to do this until after the MVRMA review has been done is that we don't want to overtax Indigenous governments with so many legislative projects to work on, so we are awaiting the results of the review of the MVRMA. It's not like we're not doing some work in the background to make sure that we're prepared. We will move on the EPA and the Waters Act as soon as that work is completed. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Can I just clarify? I understand that the waste reduction was only $200,000 and it has sunsetted, but does that now mean, can I get clarification, that this Environmental Protection Unit here is responsible for all of the implementation under the waste reduction strategy? I forget what it is. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just trying to figure out who is doing the waste reduction work now if it's not that unit. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
For that detail, to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy Minister Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Waste Reduction Unit is still there. They are funded through the environment fund, and they are the group that will be implementing the Waste Resource Management Strategy. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.
