Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of MACA and I think I want to specify the current Minister of MACA, not the Minister of Transportation.
I’d like to follow up on some questions that I posed about a year ago; questions related to amendments to the Commissioner’s Land Act. It’s my understanding that the Department of MACA is currently considering amendments to the act. I think the Minister should be aware of the huge impact on the environment that abandoned development sites, mine sites have and of the financial impact that these site cleanups can have on our government’s financial bottomline. At the moment, there is no provision for security to be provided by an existing or a developer, a mine company to provide security to the government for any cleanup costs that might be encountered when they leave the site.
I’d like to ask the Minister whether the amendments to the Commissioner’s Land Act that are being proposed will include wording to ensure financial security for the GNWT in respect to mining developments and other land leases and cleanup costs that might be associated. Thank you.