I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories include in its policy on hydraulic fracturing requirements for fair and transparent communication and opportunities for public engagement throughout all phases of the development of shale oil and gas projects. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It gives me great pleasure to have the motions before us. I just want to remind committee and, of course, the general public, these are a bunch of motions we had read into the official record when we had read the report yesterday. With that, I wanted to thank the Members publicly for their assistance in doing that.

At this point, I’d like to get straight to the committee motions that are on the official report.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to first thank the Minister for that lavish praise and, of course, if he wishes to further gild the lily with how great I am, I would be willing to accept it.

When can we expect these particular numbers before us so we can have them for good discussion? The outfitters are feeling left out. Resident hunters are concerned. I support the return of full hunting for First Nation people, their opportunity.

The point is, when can we get the numbers out for discussion so we know what we’re working towards, because right now everyone’s in the dark and we want to be part of...

I can’t disagree with the Minister when he says it’s more than just about the basic numbers. I would like to know what positive effects, other than just banning caribou hunting, the department has proposed. What I mean by that is, has the Minister, or working with the boards or co-management partners, have they proposed anything such as hunting more wolves, any type of activities that will help increase the population? To be frank, waiting for the caribou to repopulate themselves to their old numbers may take a generation of our lifetime, not the caribou’s lifetime.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to echo Mr. Yakeleya’s comments. I’ve never seen the two, Mr. Krutko and Ms. Lee, look happier together in my years. That said, I would like the occasion, as well as Premier McLeod, to recognize all our Pages. Specifically I would like to highlight Ally MacInnis. She’s a Page from Yellowknife Centre, and I want to thank her as well as all the Pages for their fine duties. They support us in our work and it’s a very valuable service that we treasure here.

As well as Mr. Bromley, I too wish to recognize Ben McDonald, who is a constituent of Yellowknife Centre. I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Minister is defending his little committees to run around. We’ve studied this problem to death.

What does the Minister of Health and Social Services think that this committee is going to tell him that we don’t have binders, cases and truckloads of paper that is going to be new? So what does he think that’s going to be new delivered by this committee on the need of a treatment centre in the Northwest Territories, as I said, whether it’s in Inuvik, Yellowknife, Hay River or even Norman Wells?

When we talk about holding the budget line, that’s nothing but malarkey. Everybody in this building would support a treatment centre option submitted to the FMB.

Why isn’t the Minister of Health and Social Services demanding the Financial Management Board approve that submission to build a treatment centre in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about addictions today and the lack of government responses. I have never seen a better defense of the status quo by finding more excuses why not to act. Government after government after government continues to find new ways to defend doing nothing. There has been nothing but a solid call from this side of the House, including the Caucus at large, when we have asked for a treatment centre here in the Northwest Territories.

The Yellowknifer wrote an editorial the other day which I completely disagree with. They were taking a shot at...

I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and move Committee Report 6-17(3) into Committee of the Whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure is pleased to provide its Report on August 2012 Hydraulic Fracturing Study Tour: Towards a Policy Framework for Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northwest Territories and commends it to the House.

The emerging shale resource play in the central Mackenzie Valley has the potential to bring unprecedented economic activity and prosperity to the Sahtu region and the Northwest Territories as a whole. These oil and gas resources must be extracted through the use of the horizontal drilling process and multi-stage...