Merci, Monsieur le President. The Auditor General found that ENR failed to lead GNWT efforts on climate change. The recent Climate Change Strategic Framework and the action plan in response to that continue in that tradition by not proposing any policy, legislative, or structural changes. Can the Minister explain to this House why his department continues to fail in its leadership role on climate change? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I disagree wholeheartedly with the Member. The department has not failed in its leadership role. In fact, we're doing a lot of work. I think the Auditor General even made a comment to the work we did. Some of the work that they were doing was before the work that we did.
We are using the recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General to strengthen our role. They did look at it a fine period of time and did not consider all of the good work that is being done to develop the Climate Change Strategic Framework. The document is a roadmap as to how the GNWT will address and respond to climate change up to 2030.
The department also plays a leadership role in the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework for Clean Growth and Climate Change in the Northern Adaptation and Strategy.
Yes, the Minister is right. It was for a defined period of time, put I quoted the Auditor General directly from the report. I wasn't making that up. I want to give the Minister his own opportunity to talk about the good work the department is doing. What specific policy, legislative, or structural changes is the Minister imposing to ensure that his department can fulfill its leadership role on climate change?
Mr. Speaker, we've done a lot of work on this. I believe I've given committee an update on the carbon price. The Climate Change Strategic Framework, I believe, will still need to come before committee, or we could do 11 independent briefings if they choose to, as well. We continue to work on that. We are looking forward to coming forward with some changes and to strengthen our adaptation to climate change.
Well, I gave the Minister an opportunity to provide some specifics on policy, legislative, and structural changes, and he didn't take me up on the offer. When the Auditor General conducted the climate change audit, ENR was down to two staff on this file. How could we allow that to happen?
Can the Minister explain what he's doing to convince his colleague, the Minister of Finance, to secure the resources necessary to properly implement the actions to allow us to meet our international and national obligations with regard to climate change?
It's very difficult getting money out of the Minister of Finance. ENR will be rolling out a proposed adaptation planning program to assist communities to prepare, plan, and implement measures to address climate change. The enhanced program also has a dedicated PY in resources to assist community. Also, as part of the development of a five-year action plan, the department will be looking at what resources are required for implementation and federal funding opportunities. If there are opportunities to access some federal funding, obviously we'll be looking at those. At the same time, we'll be making investments of our own through the GNWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. Thanks to the Minister for those good-news stories, but he still hasn't talked about anything concrete that he's prepared to do to make sure that his department has the proper authority to take on this leadership role, so let's get really specific here. I do want to say something nice about the framework. It finally sets a target for industrial greenhouse gas emissions, but to continue to send staff to try to secure industry buy-in, that's not the kind of leadership I think we need on this file. Will the Minister commit to an ongoing round table with industry leaders, GNOs, and other stakeholders to help lead the implementation of the Climate Change Strategic Framework? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we have had a lot of work that was done on this, some regional meetings in a number of the communities, as I've pointed out. We've had meetings with industry and gotten their feedback. Again, as we proceed closer to the implementation, it is imperative that I work with committee, provide committee with information, and get some feedback from committee. I can ensure the Member and the public that ENR has taken the leadership role on this and that we want to make sure that we have a product that is best and one we can do for the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
