Kieron Testart

I'm very eager to see this legislation, but I notice the budget doesn't have an ombudsman office listed, so how are we paying for the ombudsman role once the legislation is passed?

I'd like to thank the Minister for his answer and for the action the department has taken. Tonight, there is a public town hall. Will personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources be on hand to answer any questions members of the public might have as it relates to the spill?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my Member's statement earlier today, normally I like to share good news stories about my riding, but unfortunately, we had a rather large sewage spill, so I'd like to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources what role the department has played in assisting the City of Yellowknife in cleaning up this awful mess. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I mean, it's clear that Northerners need a onestop-shop for concerns around access to government services, and we need to make sure we understand what the costs are going to be on this government to provide that service and support the ombudsman. So will the Minister commit to getting those facts and figures together and presenting them to either the Standing Committee on Government Operations or to Members of the House, so we can understand the fiscal implications of this office on this government?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is about the time of year the Standing Committee on Government Operations conducts public hearings with statutory officers who serve an ombudsmanlike role over the government. So I'd like to take the opportunity, today, to speak to the Minister of Justice, who is charged with developing ombudsman legislation: where is this proposal? Thank you.

Are there any concerns arising from the regulatory side related to the spill? Has it been well contained by the city? Are there any lasting environmental hazards to my constituents, and in particular, property owners in Kam Lake?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On January 15th of last month, the City of Yellowknife reported a sewage spill in my constituency of Kam Lake. An estimated 1 million to 2 million litres of sewage was spilled, entering Kam Lake at two different locations, migrating from Kam Lake Road through drainage infrastructure and into the lots of several property owners, while the rest flowed downstream near the City Garage.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the City of Yellowknife for their prompt action to clean up this sewage spill, quickly collecting liquid sewage from the ditches and transporting it out of Kam...

I'm just going to remind the Minister that the GNWT is in a revenue crisis right now, a massive shortfall that is unpredicted at this time around. It seems like now is the time to do it. Will the Minister reconsider that in light of a significant shortfall in revenues?

I will move off this, Mr. Speaker. In the case of the City of Yellowknife, if the City of Yellowknife is unable to establish the appropriate authorities in time to fund tourism and visitor services, will the Minister commit to providing additional funding to the City of Yellowknife so that they will not be faced with a budget shortfall while these amendments take time to get started?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment made a Minister's statement, and I will quote from it: "Royalties directly impact the profitability and viability of resource development projects in the NWT" and that, "further, we will not be reviewing our resource royalty regime as part of the work on the proposed act."

One of the stated public goals of the act is to create a cuttingedge mineral resources regime in the Northwest Territories. If royalties affect our competitiveness so much, why is the Minister indicating that we are not going to address...