Merci, Madam la Presidente. One of the bills passed during the legislative avalanche ending the last Assembly was a completely new version of the socalled Environmental Rights Act, the first time this legislation had been reviewed in 29 years. The standing committee of the day worked very hard to improve the bill with 14 successful amendments.
One of the new features of this littleused legislation was supposed to be a statement of environmental values. The NWT is the second jurisdiction in Canada to develop such a statement. This means the GNWT is supposed to consider the principles and provisions set out in the statement when making decisions that may have a significant impact on the environment. Those principles include the precautionary principle, polluter pays, ecological sustainability, intergenerational equity, and Indigenous rights. The problem with the bill was that there was no way to define what might be meant by "significant impact on the environment" and no responsibility for implementation and reporting.
I tried to bring forward reasonable amendments both at committee and Committee of the Whole to address these problems, but they were defeated. Unfortunately, Cabinet did not address the same concerns again when they were brought forward during the review of the draft statement of environmental values that took place earlier this year, or in the apparent approval of a final statement of environmental values on June 7, 2022. Recently I asked officials with three departments Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Finance, and Environment and Natural Resources, what is meant by "significant impact on the environment" and who has responsibility for implementation and reporting. And guess what? No one knows.
The way the statement has been crafted is totally discretionary, with deputy ministers responsible for its application in setting government priorities; of the development of policy and legislation; and of the development, design, and delivery of programs and services. There is absolutely nothing about use of the statement or principles in Cabinet decisionmaking, tracking, reporting, or evaluation. You can’t even find a signed and dated version of the statement of environmental values on any GNWT website.
What a disappointment and a clear indication that this Cabinet is not prepared to change anything with regard to its "business as usual" approach to the environment. I'll have questions later today for the Premier who according to the Statement is, quote, "accountable to the Executive Council and the residents of the NWT for the implementation of the statement". Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
