Merci, Monsieur le President. Earlier in this sitting, I tabled a copy of the February 3rd, 2023 letter where the federal minister of northern affairs approved a regional study under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act to look at the future of the area between Yellowknife and the Nunavut border. Unfortunately, the study, as it is currently formulated, will stop at the Nunavut border. However, caribou don't stop there and planning continues for an allweather road that would destroy habitat and disrupt migrations of the Bathurst caribou herd.
A regional study is a good thing, especially if there is participant funding, a broad mandate that considers options and alternatives, and work on how the results will actually be implemented and reported on. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the Department of Infrastructure that it should "down tools" during the regional study.
I raised the issue during the review of the Infrastructure 20232024 Main Estimates on March 8th, and it is business as usual there in terms of spending money that will disrupt the habitat of what's left of the Bathurst caribou herd.
Despite several attempts to get the Minister to clarify the status of the work on the socalled Slave Geological Province Road, or the Lockhart AllSeason Road, I could not really get a straight answer.
On November 1st, 2022, during the review of the capital budget, I raised the issue of whether Cabinet would push ahead with an allweather road while a regional study is underway. The Minister of Finance said that the work on the road was delayed, which would allow for the regional study to take place.
Even the Government of Nunavut has just changed its position on the Nunavut Land Use Plan and is calling for permanent protection of caribou calving grounds and other key habitat by prohibiting development. Our government has no such position and continues to bulldoze ahead with a road that will have irreversible impacts. I will have questions for the Premier later today on whether this government intends to proceed with an allweather road to Lockhart Lake and trigger a separate environmental assessment while a regional study under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act is in progress. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
