Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the NWT there are no programs that we fund that are exclusively for ancestry. In other words, we don't recognize Inuit. We recognize all residents. When we provide funding through that, the pots, we work for all residents of the Northwest Territories. However, Municipal and Community Affairs has during engagement with the SPAR framework which will govern how MACA invests lottery dollars in the NWT. MACA will seek feedback on the type of specific action stakeholders want to do so that will be one of the opportunities to look at that. Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member has said, and in our conversations numerous times, a few homeowners in Hay River have indicated they'd like technical assistance with contracting for repairs. MACA is following up with those homeowners to confirm the status of these repairs, particularly as many of these repairs are straightforward in nature, for example, replacement of skirting. MACA is working with homeowners considering replacement to system and obtaining property appraisals so that they can make informed decisions. MACA is also discussing having conversations with Public Safety Canada...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to thank the Member from Hay River South, Hay River North, and the Deh Cho, for asking these questions, important questions, on the residents who were impacted by the flood.

MACA doesn't have the information because homeowners in Hay River are managing their own repairs and replacements. MACA only becomes aware of the work to repair or replacement when the homeowners completed a final claim for the disaster assistance. As of December 31st, MACA has processed approximately 100 claims for disaster assistance in Hay River and on KFN. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The contractor is conducting work to meet the timelines in the order issued by OROGO to close the wells at Cameron Hill and remove pipelines and related infrastructure. This work is being inspected and certified by OROGO according to the legislation and standards. The land and water board issued a permit to allow this work to proceed. The land and water board has required the receiver to submit a revised closure and reclamation plan with other work at the site by June of 2024. This revised plan will be available for public comments through the land and water board...

I would get her to write my Minister's statement because that's exactly how I feel about this.

Mr. Speaker, what happened is we went out. Nobody bid on the contract. Nobody did. So we had to cancel it because there was nobody interested. Fortunately I can say that we have somebody that's interested or a company that's interested. We're very happy with the people that are doing it. They already started the work. So we're hoping it's going to be successful and we're hoping that it like I said this year, hopefully, be able to get this SPAR framework done and ready to go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Member for the question. The abandonment agreement with the contractor was signed on December 9th following a procedural process authorized by the court. The work is being undertaken by the receiver to carry out the order issued by the regulator of oil and gas regulations. The cost to complete this work is $15 million but as the workers or the contractor gets into the site, there may be additional costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member's correct that MACA is currently doing engagement and has met or is planning to meet with sport and recreation organizations, Indigenous governments, NGOs working with underserved populations, community coaches, and territorial sport organizations. After engagement, the department will publish a “what we heard” report by June 2023 follows the release of the SPAR framework. If the engagement work advances positively, my intent is to approve the new SPAR framework this Assembly, but it will depend on what we've heard or what we've heard through the...

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to working with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations on conservation in the Northwest Territories. The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources has spent the last three years implementing establishment agreements, drafting sitespecific regulations, and establishing management boards for existing territorial protected areas, Thaidene Nene and Tuyeta. The network of protected and conservation areas in the NWT comes with many benefits:

Conservation areas protect ecological and cultural important space;

They help to maintain...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the new policies will consider to account for the cost changes in utility prices, not just the carbon tax. The water and sewer funding policy already uses actual power in heating fuel rates in the communities when we do its calculations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that amount of money that I talked to you about, it was a quarter million, there's also programs out there through contribution agreements that the communities are able to access that there. But as the Member said, I can have those conversations with the federal Minister to see what funding help the federal government is available to give to our jurisdictions. The biggest challenge is when we talk to the federal government, it's about Canada as a whole, how the NGOs work. And when we talk about some of the challenges that we face, that's where we have to...