Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you heard from Mr. Bromley already, for a full week this past September the environmental assessment hearings were held on the remediation plan for the Giant Mine site. The GNWT is a partner with the Government of Canada, acting as the developer for the project at these hearings. Two weeks ago the developer made their final submission to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, and reading the content of their submission, as Mr. Bromley stated, I also felt that it’s almost as
though they weren’t listening to any of the presenters.
The GNWT representative on the project development team signed the final submission, so I have to assume that this government supports the position outlined in that final submission. If that’s the case, then I must express my grave concern that this government is not adequately representing me and my constituents to the review board.
The developer states that the community showed wide support for the freezing approach. I only attended one evening session, but my experience that night was not that as expressed by the developer. Most presenters found fault with the freezing approach for one reason or another.
The developer is also confident that their plan is the best available approach. That seems to acknowledge the lack of confidence in the remediation plan by the general public, but it’s the intention of the developer to continue to engage Yellowknife citizens until they too become confident. That method hasn’t worked to date, why would it work in the future?
Lastly, the developer’s submission had no indication of any commitment to real and effective oversight of the project and long-term monitoring required for the project. This was a huge concern for many of the interveners at the hearings and it’s a huge personal concern for me as well.
So considering that a number of issues are still at large, a number of issues are still not adequately dealt with, in the minds of both the Yellowknives Dene and the citizens of Yellowknife, how can this government sign off on this final submission to the review board? How is my government protecting me, protecting the residents of my riding and the city?
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister responsible for this project at the appropriate time. Thank you.