Thank you. That’s the challenge for all of us as we look at protecting the environment, the land, the water and the animals and balancing that with the resource development and economic development. When you talk about making land available for resource development, there is a number of different levels to that. There is land that’s taken up by communities. There’s land taken up for resource development. There are lands taken up for other reasons. So we’re going to make sure that we strive for that balance, and in some of the regions like the Deh Cho, there are figures being used in terms of the land quantum.

The Member indicates she’s been talking to a number of folks who have given her numbers. Well, as a government we don’t have a territorial-wide number that we’re saying has to be kept free for resource development or a particular number of land and land quantum that has to be put aside. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier. Open, transparent and meaningful public consultation is

critical to the operations of a public government. It must exist. Both prior to being an MLA and since being an MLA I’m concerned about the inconsistencies in public consultation that this government is administering. There seems to be a wide variety from information sessions to real public consultation. For certainty and for ongoing public consultations, I think it would be important for this government to develop protocols on what a public consultation is and which all departments, boards and agencies would be bound to. So my question for the Premier is: will he commit to, in the life of the 16

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Assembly, develop with the Department of

Executive a protocol on public consultations so that people know what a public consultation is, so it’s clear, so it’s transparent and so that people have confidence that their input is heard and recognized? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories does have a consultation package in place. We worked through in Intergovernmental Affairs and the intergovernmental group as well as Aboriginal Affairs and Executive and Justice to look at a number of agreements around the country to inform all departments of our consultation requirements for our policies and legislation. Thank you.

I would like to thank the Premier for that response. I would like to ask the Minister to share that with committee. Even though it exists, my question still stands around the consistency. If you look across the government, there doesn’t seem to be consistency in application of public consultations. By way of example, the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission is on the workplace safety standards. Clearly, that’s public consultation and people’s input is being sought. The Wildlife Act, on the other hand, there’s a lot of concern that it’s not in there. So how is the Premier going to ensure consistency in public consultation processes throughout the Northwest Territories conducted by the Government of the Northwest Territories?

If the Member is asking about the difference, different levels of consultation, we have a broad public consultation process for all the people of the Northwest Territories. If he’s drawing the difference between the Workers’ Safety and Compensation process as well as the Wildlife Act, quite clearly if you look at the Wildlife Act, that’s gone to every community in the Northwest Territories and has had broad consultation on that. On top of that, one of the other areas we have to fulfil is where there are land claim agreements and self-government agreements, that requires an additional level of consultation before we go to

drafting legislation. So we match that as well. Thank you.

There is concern about consistency in public consultation. If you go out into the public, the Wildlife Act is a prime example. I’m curious how the Premier can ensure the public that their input is being heard in all forms of public consultation, in particularly something like the Wildlife Act. What are we going to do to ensure that application is consistent and people’s voices are heard? This doesn’t mean the government has to agree with everything they hear. It is a public government, there are lots of people’s opinions, but we need to ensure people are heard and acknowledged. So how does the Premier intend to ensure consistency? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We do have a policy within the Government of the Northwest Territories on consultation. All departments have that and we ensure that we work with departments in fulfilling our commitments. As well, this Assembly has a process of doing that. Once legislation is introduced, there is a whole different forum for public consultation on that and bringing the bills back to this Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

We do follow our policies. Thank you.

I believe they had followed policies, that’s why I have 45 percent unemployment in my riding, which I never had three years ago, but under the regime of this government, it has forced companies to leave my riding and go to operate out of Yellowknife and get work in the southern region because they can’t get work in their home communities. I’d like to ask the Premier if it’s fair that all the contractors doing work in my riding are coming from Inuvik who are getting $70 million of capital expenditures in that community and yet my communities are going hungry because of unemployment rates at 45 percent.

When we put the facts on the table, for example Mackenzie Valley Construction in the region, in the Department of Transportation it accounts for almost 70 percent of the contract values both negotiated, public tenders, the whole process. So that comparison is difficult to do. On top of that, when we have large construction projects, that requires a certain level of commitment by the contractors to be able to build on that. We follow the policies there as well. I think the comparison of the Inuvik constituency versus the Aklavik or Mackenzie Delta constituency, the Member well knows that the schools in Inuvik have been on the books since 1995 and have been authorized by this Assembly to go forward in construction.

I also think we should note that a $100 million contract was let through a negotiated contract for the school in Inuvik. A hundred million dollars yet I can’t get a goddamned house built in my riding for $300,000.

The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Finance. I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance if there can be a financial audit done in regard to the capital housing allocations in the Inuvik region and exactly why those allocations are not being spent in the communities they’re earmarked for and they’re benefitting the community of Inuvik by way of all the contractors receiving all the contracts. Could you check into that and see if there is a possibility of investigation to how those dollars are being let?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a detailed question and I will review Hansard and, therefore, take the question as notice.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment today. I have received communication from the Minister. He advises me that he is aware of the economic downturn in Hay River and several different initiatives have been expedited. Things have been happening there. We need something that is going to have a large and long-lasting effect on the economy in Hay River.

We don’t have to think back very far to how many millions of dollars this government spent when we saw an opportunity for economy from the secondary diamond processing, when this government stepped up with loans, loan guarantees, training dollars, and it was all in the interest of putting people to work and enhancing the economy of this area for the most part.

I’d like to ask the Minister of ITI if his officials have had any communication with Tamerlane Ventures about some of the obstacles or challenges that they may be facing in getting ready to open a mine close to Hay River in the South Slave that would benefit our region greatly.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re very pleased to hear that Tamerlane has received financing to go on to the next level, but more recently we haven’t been in any discussions. All the discussions we’ve had with Tamerlane have been before the economy took a downturn. At that time we were discussing the need for power and also other opportunities. Now that they have received financing, we’ll be quite prepared to go back and have the discussions with them.