Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 75)

Thank you, Minister Cochrane. Mr. Blake.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 75)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. CFC, or Caribou Framework and Collaboration, planning is essential to sound management, consultation, and an important element to achieving goals set by the stakeholders. Last year's caribou survey showed alarming and very concerning decline in caribou numbers, or herd numbers for the barren-land caribou. Range planning and consultations followed.

Mr. Speaker, Canada labelled, in the Boreal Forest jurisdiction, the boreal caribou as a species at risk. However, in the NWT, and more specifically in the Sahtu, boreal caribou are not deemed species at risk in support of this...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 75)

Thank you, Minister Cochrane. Mr. Beaulieu, anything further?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks for that information there. Moving on to the last question, can the Minister elaborate a little bit on the long-range plans on the movement of goods and services and the MTS division? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thanks to the Minister for that information there. My next question is: what is MTS doing differently for this 2019 season to ensure a successful resupply? For example, federal resources for upgrades to the operational side of the division, and those types of things?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mackenzie River has for generations resupplied the communities along this corridor and connecting communities in the Beaufort Sea area while supporting industry. The Mackenzie River is 4,240 kilometres in length, the longest in Canada, a lifeline for many communities; in most cases, the only means of bulk and personal resupply. With the reality of climate change and environmental impacts, the changing of navigational river channels by deposits presents many challenges to the logistics of resupply planning and, more importantly, delivery.

The Marine Transportation...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

The Minister must be a mind reader, leading up to my next question here. We are all quite aware of the drastic fires taking place in northern Alberta, which is in the rail system. Has the inventory for the communities been delivered and stored at the facilities in Hay River, ready for barging shipment?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my statement on the supply chain, Mackenzie River Corridor systems and the Beaufort Sea communities, my first question to the Minister of Infrastructure is: how is the MTS ensuring that Sahtu, and other communities that are customers to the division, receive the resupply services that they require in this sailing season? What preparatory measures are the department taking? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize our gallery of youth and the climate change protestors there, Ms. Emily Bayha from the Sahtu. Thank you.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Agriculture and industry has been around for many decades, since the early days of the Norman Wells Oil Field discovery. Tommy the Ox assisted the first explorers in this discovery.

Agriculture still remains a presence in the community today. My committee colleagues witnessed this during the committee consultation meetings by visiting the Sahtu Gardens on May 8th, a private enterprise with some farm animals and crops of choice. A similar example is that a resident can harvest 25,000 to 30,000 pounds of potatoes annually.

Mr. Speaker, the Agricultural Strategy provides...