Thank you. Deputy minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. There was a forced growth submission that provides additional funding to the base budget for the main estimates which is why it looks a little bit different. But the actuals and the revised estimates are showing those changes due to sups or additional fire expenses. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm wondering if the Minister can inform the House where the $2 million in chargebacks is coming from further down the page. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
So thank you. It's a mutual I guess it's called MARS, and it's a mutual agreement that we have. It's with other jurisdictions across Canada.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, my next question is in regards to both fees and payments for materials and supplies. There's a significant amount of fluctuation in both of those line items, and I'm wondering if there is a theme in either that speaks to what causes this fluctuation and if there's something if there's a reason for that? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister.
Thank you. Deputy minister, Dr. Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So for fees and payments, there's increased testing of samples, GIS wildlife tracking, and fire management, membership fees. There's also an increase due to some of the federal funding that we receive from barrenground caribou.
For the materials and supplies, this is due to a change in accounting treatment and so is the $2 million that we just talked about with MARS. So previously these things used to be in fund three, and they've been moved to fund one. And that's why you're seeing some of these wonky changes over time for the years. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So would it be since they've been changed to fund three, is that something that we would expect to see stabilize over years to come, or are we still expecting to see quite a bit of fluctuation and movement in those line items? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
It should stabilize. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any further questions under wildlife and forest management? Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. So there's some changes to the number of positions found on 102 between last year and or the current year and what's proposed for next year. Can I just get a quick summary of what those changes are? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Thank you. Deputy minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So there were four positions that we're sunsetting due to the section 11 agreement but there's been a year of interim funding that has been provided by the federal government while we come to an agreement for a longer term agreement on caribou with the federal government. And then as I mentioned there was a forced growth submission that we were successful for that has allowed us to have a fire technician, a wild land fire crew and two fire crews, as well as a wildfire training technician. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Is there any new funding in here for implementation of the Forest Act? I know the Minister's we got the "what we heard" report tabled in the House earlier today, and there's probably going to be some significant changes. Is there any money in here to implement that new legislation if and when it passes? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
No, we're using the money within but we still need to do the regulations as well. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Okay. Yeah, I'm a bit worried about that because I think we're going to be taking on some significant new things with that legislation when it's brought forward. And so what would be the process of identifying if there's new needs and would that be brought in through a supplementary appropriation? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
So as we develop our regs, we would find out what it is and it would have to be through a sup. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Yeah, okay, well I'll just cool my horses until that point. But I want to turn over to the contributions page on 100. There's a bunch of money going out; maybe there's some money coming in as well with regard to work on caribou. And where are we at with habitat protection. You know, we've told harvesters they can't harvest and some of them have done that voluntarily. You know, we've gone out, tried to get more wolves either by, you know, paying harvesters a little more or shooting them from helicopters. I don't know what else we can do for caribou other than protect habitat at this point, which we haven't done. So where are we at with habitat protection and is any of this money in here, in this part of the budget, for identification of key habitat and, more importantly, protection of that habitat? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
For that detail, I'll turn to the deputy minister. Thank you.
Deputy minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So we do provide funding support and information to Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations, and important areas for caribou have been identified by the Tlicho government, the Athabasca Denesuline, North Slave Metis Alliance, and the NWT Metis Nation. We're committed to supporting the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Lutselk'e Dene First Nation, and Deninu Kue to do similar work. Two workshops were held in 2022 to share information on legal tools for protection and a recent technical analysis using barrenground caribou collar data helped to identify and prioritize water crossings. The workshop also provided an opportunity to discuss next steps, and there is interest in identifying barrenground caribou habitat protection in Healthy Lands, Healthy People for conservation in the NWT. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Are we likely to see even one square centimetre actually protected of critical caribou habitat within the lifetime of this Assembly? New habitat protection. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. Yes, so we're working with the Indigenous governments to prioritize the areas that they're talking about. Again, it's a collaborative approach with our Indigenous governments. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Yeah, look, I recognize that this is complicated with being sure everybody's at the table, but are we likely to see any habitat actually protected, you know, by the end of this Assembly? New habitats identified and, more importantly, protected by the end of this Assembly. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you. It'll be dependent on the outcomes of our meetings. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Yeah, okay, thanks for that. Yeah, I have a funny feeling that this is going to become one of the key issues that's part of the regional study. So I don't think I have anything else. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to express my gratitude for the people at the wildlife and forest management, the capable staff there. And it's a territorial fire centre. The staff there are awesome, and they have really incredible working relationships with the Indigenous governments. And same with the ENR staff that are on the highway and throughout with Lands, I you know, I just want to ensure that the Minister knows that I'm very grateful for the staff at the local level, that whether they be territorial or at the regional level, it's you go into those offices and the help that I got, even when I was chief, with many things that happened in the community with different events and putting up teepees at certain times and everything else, I just want to make sure that he understands that I am very grateful for that, for those departments of his. You know, the only thing we have to work on is a little bit of the protocol when it comes to certain things that happen. And, you know, I love my community and I love the people that are there, and that will never change. And I appreciate his department and I appreciate the staff that work for him, especially the deputy minister. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Are there any further questions, comments under wildlife and forest management? Seeing none, please turn to page 99.
Environment and Climate Change, wildlife and forest management, operations expenditure summary, 20232024 Main Estimates, $60,608,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
