Mr. Minister.
Debates of Feb. 27th, 1998
Topics
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This has been an ongoing concern for a number of years that we have been working on. I understand there are meetings this week with federal officials to see if we can try to come to some resolution about who is responsible for cleaning up many of these sites. The responsibility for some of these sites has still not been clarified. We are working on it this week. In regard to the landfill option, we have said before that as far as we know, there is no scientific evidence that says burying some of these buildings and infrastructures that contained PCB in the paint on these buildings is an environmental concern which does not appear that it gets into the soil as a result of it being in landfills. However, that is the decision that was made by the federal government and the Minister of Environment, that the Department of Environment has rejected the request from National Defence to put some of these infrastructure and buildings in landfill sites. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Picco.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Edward Picco Iqaluit
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the concern was indeed in certain sites, not close to communities like Langstaff Bluff, Cape Hooper, Cape Dyer, where the Department of National Defence had asked for contracts to sell off those sites. Of course, the concern was, if a contractor was buying a site or business, they would go in there and take what they wanted, for example, there are bathtubs, toiletries and so on, then leave the abandoned buildings, then you had a discard of that material and there was some concern that they would be burying it. I am very pleased to hear that the federal Department of the Environment has turned down the option. Have the Minister and his staff addressed the concern of the problem with the level of control between the two federal departments and that is the DEW Line sites are under the control of the Department of National Defence, but it seems like the money to clean them up comes through the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs? This has caused some concern with communities and groups because they bring their complaints or problems forth to DND, you get a response from DIAND, then of course, our RWED gets involved. Has there been some discussion surrounding that? Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu
It is true, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs is the lead federal department in regard to just about every issue in the Northwest Territories, specifically, lands and waters. They have primary jurisdiction and in cases of the environment, they do take the lead. Usually federal Ministers defer to the Minister of DIAND to take the lead in dealing with issues. In the case of these cleanups, although National Defence is the agency that set up these facilities and sites, it is DIAND that must take the lead in dealing with environmental land and water concerns. This is the reason for the way it has been handled by the federal government.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. I have under environmental protection, Mr. Miltenberger.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have some questions in regard to strategic energy planning, given that energy and the provision of energy are one of the biggest dollar items of this government. It is an area where there is potential for significant painless savings. Could the Minister indicate what plans there are, in fact, to develop a strategic energy plan? Obviously, at this point, with two separate parts, one for the east and one for the west, which focuses not just on communities, but as a territory and a government. Considering we are a major energy user, how do we intend to take advantage of things like conservation and retrofits, how we are going to deal with emissions of greenhouse gases, as we are one of the largest, per capita, offenders in that area, given our climate and alternate energy technology, to name three. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Handley.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Handley
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. About two months ago we hired the executive director for the Arctic Energy Alliance. The Arctic Energy Alliance is an incorporated body that is jointly funded and supported by RWED, Housing Corporation, MACA, Association of Municipalities and the Power Corporation. Each of us sits on the board. We met recently with the executive director who has given us his first draft of a strategic overview and he is now working on a plan. We feel that by working jointly and cooperatively between the departments and municipalities, we will be able to undertake some initiatives that will deal with broad issues like climate change and will also deal with very specific issues like making public housing more energy efficient, with various strategies for better utilization of the facilities and capacity of the Power Corporation. I expect that within the next month we will have a completed strategic plan, which we all agree on and work plans would follow shortly.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Miltenberger.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am very glad to hear about the progress being made. My question will be in terms of process. Will those work plans and information be funnelled back as one of the venues through this House or through the appropriate committee for feedback? It is a very critical initiative and one that has long-term impacts. Thank you.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1193
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair John Ningark
Thank you. With that, we will take a lunch break. Thank you, Mr. Minister. Thank you, Mr. Handley. Thank you, Mr. Kennedy.
--Break
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Vince Steen
I call the committee back to order. We are on Bill 8, Appropriation Act, 1998-99, Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, activity summary, environmental protection, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance, $1.791 million. Agreed?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Vince Steen
Thank you. Page 11-9, detail of capital, environmental protection, buildings and works, headquarters, total region, $400,000. Agreed?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1193
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1193
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1193
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Vince Steen
Thank you. Acquisition of equipment, headquarters, total region, $10,000. Agreed?
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1193
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1193
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1193
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.