Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Member for the question. Both Alberta and Canada are considering the development of regulatory guidance or regulations to allow for discharge of treated oil sand tailings water to the Athabasca River. Alberta's conducting scientific studies to support the development of regulatory guidance which will outline requirements for oil sands and operations to release treated oil sands tailing water.

As I've stated previously, the GNWT I repeat the GNWT will not support the release of oil sands tailings affluent unless rigorous scientific science demonstrates a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for fire smarting in NWT communities is shared by all. And you heard me in my Minister's statement here, it includes the public, homeowners, local, territorial, and federal governments. All 29 forest communities in the NWT have community wildfire protection plans that help guide them in preparing and responding to wildfires. ECC has worked with communities to make sure their plans are updated and continue to provide ongoing advice and assistance to help them implement their plans. The NWT Association of Communities recently received $20...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said previously, ECC was prepared for a possible early start to this fire season and had crews, helicopter and air tanker on strength in Hay River. ECC staff were able to respond to the fire on the morning it started with the information of the smoke. A helicopter and initial attack crews responded from Hay River immediately. Another Electra from Alberta arrived mid afternoon to assist. But the evening of the day the fire started, four crews and three helicopters were also working to contain the fire. Crews from Wood Buffalo National Park also assisted early in the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Environmental Rights Act Annual Report 20222023; and, the NWT Surface Rights Board Annual Work Plan and Budget (Core Funding) for 20232024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to talk about the village of Fort Simpson's deputy fire chief, Pat Rowe, who retired from the volunteer fire department after 40 plus years of service. Upon returning home from his tour with the army, Pat joined the department in the 1980s. As he said, it was a natural fit, especially after being trained to fight fires in the Armed Forces. As well, it was his way to give back to the community. As he has been quoted in several news articles, it's a job that needs to be done; I just happen to have enough training to make a difference. That's a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was hoping that we would have been in a position to have a lottery or ballot draw during the life of this Assembly. However, there are complex issues related to the issuance of new leases in this area that remains unresolved. It is important that we take the time to discuss and make progress on these issues before we conduct another ballot draw. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I think I'm going to give the same answers the Minister of Lands used to give. So we're working with the IGC process. We're working with our Indigenous government. And so it is a process that we need to respect, and it's going to take a little bit of time but we're trying to make sure we get it right. And so, again, what I'm hoping is to have it done but we still need to respect the IGC process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Disaster Assistance Policy is a governmentfunded assistance program that may be implemented after a widespread disaster to ensure essential community functions and cover the essential basic needs of residents and businesses. Events affecting a single sector or property are not widespread, nor do they impact essential community functions.

The Disaster Assistance Policy is not an insurance program or a compensation program to recover all losses or to be applied to events affecting single properties. Property owners have a responsibility to protect their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, disasterprone areas are those that are identified as susceptible to certain risk. For example, flood risk mapping identifies area that are increased risk of flooding. MACA does not keep account of residents living in a disasterprone area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can advise you that Alberta has asked we keep the key knowledge gap reports in our review confidential at the time while they complete their analysis. Noting that transparency is our interest, we've asked Alberta when they will be making the reports public as well as how they will be dealing with our comments. As I mentioned, we will also continue to advocate that Alberta engages and consults with NWT Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations as well as the public on the development of regulations. And I can honestly tell you, Mr. Speaker, I've...