Shane Thompson

I am not going to make a commitment to say that we're going to do inspections, because that is part of the job that we do. Right now, what we have done is we check if there are leaks, if it's installed properly; we follow the federal regulations. Our staff is out there. Again, the important thing is, I heard the Member say in his Member's statement that there are potential sites out there that are a problem. We just need to be told of that so that we can work on those things, so that we can identify them. Again, it's about working together. Even if it's on private land, if there is a potential...

There are regulations. Again, it's up to the owners to make sure that they follow it. If it is part of our infrastructure, we follow regulations that are out there with the Government of Canada and with ENR. There are regulations, and they are available through our wildlife officers, our officers in the community, which you can access.

To the previous question, I'll be willing to sit down with the Minister and the department to look at the thing, there. To answer his question, Environment and Climate Change Canada natural funding has provided $5.8 million over three years for the Thaidene Nene territorial protected areas. In addition, Parks Canada is providing $1 million in funding over the same three-year period. The Government of the Northwest Territories is committing $8.12 million of in-kind funding to the three protected areas identified under the nature fund. This in-kind funding is made up of operation, maintenance...

I am more than willing to meet with the Member and look at this, because we are trying to do what is best for all of the residents of the Northwest Territories. On to his question: the Thaidene Nene territorial protected area was established in 2019 through regulations under the Protected Areas Act. There was not enough time during the 18th Assembly to complete all of the regulations. Work is under way on drafting complete regulations and is expected to be completed by 2021, as agreed in the establishment agreements.

Since 2015, two annual reports have been released under our Alberta-NWT transboundary agreement, and a report for 2017-2018 is currently being finalized for release.

All reports are publicly released and available on the ENR website, but specifically to the Member's question, we will make sure they get a copy of the report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department's bilateral agreement or the Government of the Northwest Territories' agreement with Alberta does actually have that. It is actually part of the evaluation. It's the quality and quantity there, and it is actually at the Slave River and the Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Department of ENR is proud to lead in regard to climate change, but we work closely with all of the other departments. Again, it's not just ENR, but it's the Government of the Northwest Territories trying to deal with this. We are taking the lead. We are working with the departments, but each department needs to be working together to help us deal with this climate change issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: “NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program 2018-2019 Project Results.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The business assets for Mactung tungsten deposits were purchased by the Government of the Northwest Territories in order to recover debts owed to the GNWT under the Cantung reclamation security agreement. The Government of the Northwest Territories took this approach to preserve the security originally accepted by Canada and to maximize its value.