Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Written Question 12-15(6) asked by Mr. Yakeleya on May 17, 2007, regarding the Protected Areas Strategy.

In response to your written questions in the Legislative Assembly on May 17, 2007, regarding the Protected Areas Strategy, I am happy to provide you with an update on the actions taken by the Government of the Northwest Territories to encourage the federal government to approve the extension of the Edehzhie interim land withdrawal and to approve the interim land withdrawal for Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta -- Ramparts River and wetlands -- that the Canadian Wildlife Service applied for in July 2006.

On June 26, 2007, the federal government extended the interim land withdrawal for Edehzhie to October 31, 2008. As you are aware, interim land withdrawals are a temporary means to hold the land while decisions are made through other processes such as PAS and land use plans.

The GNWT has and continues to take actions to promote the implementation of the Mackenzie Valley five-year action plan for the PAS. Some actions to promote implementation of the plan and regarding the two candidate areas you highlighted are as follows:

• • In March 2006, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources wrote to the president of the Yamoga Land Corporation, recognizing the significant regional support for the Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta protected area and supporting an interim land withdrawal for this site.
• • In February 2007, I met with the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada on a number of issues. At this meeting, I discussed our shared responsibility for implementing the PAS with partners. I emphasized that completing a network of protected areas is a critical component to moving forward with the proposed multi-billion dollar Mackenzie gas project and that several candidate areas require action by INAC to move one step ahead. I encouraged the Minister to approve the interim land withdrawal extension for the Edehzhie protected area and the interim land withdrawal request for the Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta protected area.
• • In late March 2007, I met with the Minister of Environment Canada when he came to Yellowknife to announce funding for Sahoyue-Ehdacho. I indicated that we fully expect INAC to take the necessary actions to get interim withdrawal requests done quickly.

Recently, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources wrote to the federal Ministers of Environment and INAC again asking that the outstanding interim land withdrawal request for Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta be completed. The focus of these letters was Canada's budget announcement of $10 million to create or expand protected areas in the Northwest Territories. GNWT priorities for how the funding should be allocated were identified: establishing protected areas; biodiversity and ecological representation; and managing protected areas. There is an expectation that some of this funding will flow to the GNWT.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.