Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources. Work is beginning, under the authority of a federal water licence, for the deconstruction of the roaster complex at the Giant Mine site, but I’ve heard that AANDC no longer has water resource officers in Yellowknife. Their water
licence inspector positions are all vacant except for one in Inuvik.
Given the significant potential for environmental and human health impact from the Giant Mine roaster complex deconstruction – as we all know it’s full of arsenic trioxide and so on, 16 tonnes, I think – this raises serious issues around inspection and enforcement of terms and conditions. So will the Minister commit to urgently confirming that its project partner, which is also the regulator, will have a full complement of qualified water inspectors on staff here in Yellowknife to monitor safety and compliance throughout the term of this work? Mahsi.