Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, the scope of addictions and problems are widely known. It’s practically an epidemic. That is disgraceful.

In our territory, 32 percent of residents are heavy drinkers, a figure twice the national average. Alcohol and drug-related hospitalizations are widespread and expensive. Beyond frequent hospitalizations for extreme detoxification, there are injuries from falls and physical violence, and longer-term conditions such as liver disease, heart disease and stroke. Eighty-five percent of crimes are related to alcohol or drug abuse. The courts are congested and the jails are filled. It boggles the mind to consider the social and financial costs.

[English translation not provided.]

Our people keep demanding better service, and rightly so. They should not have to fly south for residential treatment. They should receive care from specially trained alcohol and drug workers, not generic mental health workers. Their option should extend to on-the-land treatment programs.

I know I am not the only one tired of seeing the government take baby steps or even backward steps. What is needed is a giant leap forward. With the right kind of help, our people can heal from addictions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An elder said, sometimes you just gotta live. That elder was Wilfred Henry McDonald. With the passing of this elder, over the past weekend I had the opportunity to go to the Sahtu and be with the people in the Sahtu, in Fort Good Hope, Deline, Colville Lake, Tulita and Norman Wells, in honouring the wisdom of our elders who lived on our land.

The Sahtu came together this past weekend because of the generosity and the wisdom of Wilfred Henry McDonald, in paying their last respects to this elder.

Wilfred Henry McDonald was born on July 17, 1935, to Ernest Roy McDonald and Cecilia Karkagee at Good Hope Bay on the shores of Great Bear Lake. His younger life was spent there with his parents and siblings. They harvested and trapped the land. During the summers he and his

family spent time in Tulita, visiting with family and friends.

Wilfred had a big heart and a winning smile. He lived on the land for 27 years. He was a skilled bushman, carpenter and gardener. When you go to Oscar Creek, you will see why I say these words. Wilfred lived there. He lived a simple life. Culture is the key to our survival as people, and Wilfred lived this culture all his life. He loved living on the banks of the Mackenzie River close to Oscar Creek. This was his kingdom. He marked his area out with carving “W” on the trees around his cabin so he could tell people that this was his territory.

Like I said, there were many people who came for the family of Wilfred, and the family is very appreciative of the Sahtu kindness. They say that when one passes away, you see the wealth of one’s life by the number of people who showed up to say thank you to Wilfred.

On behalf of myself, the family and the Sahtu, we thank you, Wilfred, for keeping our lives rich with your stories, and the culture strong by continuing living in the bush as a true bushman in the Sahtu.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the late Justin John Catholique of Lutselk’e.

Justin passed away in his home on July 25th of this

year. A funeral service was held in his memory on August 3rd .

Justin was born October 11, 1981. He was only 32 years old. Justin attended Lutselk’e Dene School, also participating in training programs offered in the community for small periods of time, where he learned valuable skills such as small engines and mechanics.

Justin lived in his own log house across from his father. He was a loving, caring, hardworking, natural mechanic. He did not have an opportunity to marry or have children, yet he provided for his nieces and nephews by helping take care of them and he loved them very much.

Justin was a natural hunter and trapper. When winter came, he was always ready to set traps and go hunting. He was always ready to share with the elders and the community. He lived in the bush for periods of time, sometimes all winter. Justin also participated in community hunts and assisted students when they went out on the land on school trips. He taught students valuable bush skills and how to survive on the land. He spoke Denesoline

language fluently and always spoke Denesoline to his people.

Justin was predeceased by his grandmother, the late Annie Catholique; and grandfather, Gerome Catholique, both of Lutselk’e. The late Annie Catholique was famous for her midwifery skills and delivered many children during her time. Justin is survived by his father, Charlie Catholique; his mother, Verna Catholique; and siblings Shawn, Sheldon, Shawna and Jeremy.

Again, I pass my deepest condolences on to Justin’s father, mother, brothers, sisters and many nieces, who Justin loved very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Thoughts and prayers go to the McDonald and Catholique families from the Assembly. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to acknowledge a group of fourth year Bachelor of Science Nursing Program students and their instructor, Ms. Jodi Brennan, from Aurora College. Please welcome to the gallery the following nursing students: Kendall Gall, Kyla Larocque, Jocelyn Apps, Valisa Aho, Sasha Budd, Merrill Cooper, Axelle Kearnan-Carbonneau, Lori-Ann King, Violca Memedi, Lindsay Ohrling, Megan Paul, Carolyn Ridgely, Diedralee Roy and Tanya Silke.

Nursing is a valuable profession in the Northwest Territories, and I hope each student will find a rewarding career in one of our health authorities. I wish you all the very best in your continued studies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Kyla Larocque. Mr. Beaulieu just recognized her. Kyla just got married in April. Welcome to the gallery. I wish you and your colleagues best of luck as you pursue your nursing careers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Moses.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to welcome a resident from our community of Inuvik, Kyla Larocque, and congratulate her on her studies and the fourth year of nursing. All the fourth year Bachelor of Science nursing students, welcome and good luck in your studies. I look forward to having you as part of the working force of the GNWT in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. I would like to welcome everybody here in the public gallery today. Thank you for taking an interest. To the fourth year students, thank you for doing what you are doing, because you are going to be helping a lot of people in the future. Thank you so much.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to use the occasion today to ask questions to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. I understand that the department is developing a fracking policy, or I should say potentially developing a policy on hydraulic fracking here in the Northwest Territories.

Before we ask specifics about the policy, when will a policy be developed so Members can see it? Is the Minister committed to bringing this policy public at the same time so all members of our territory can have a look at it as to what the government is thinking along the lines of this initiative? This way we can help diagnose if this is an initiative that Northerners want and under what type of conditions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government has been working on a guidance document in a draft form. Initially we started with encouragement from the committee. We have worked with the regulator. We have come up with the draft copy that is now on its way to committee. It is going to capture some of the best practices that we think are critical as we look at the use of unconventional hydraulic fracking that has taken place in the territory and where we anticipate in the central Mackenzie and the Sahtu, it’s going to be a practice that is going to have to be managed carefully. We’ve worked to come up with that, and that will be going to committee. We’ll be awaiting committee feedback, after which we will make the draft document public and we’ll also be sharing with industry for their feedback. Thank you.

On the recent hydraulic fracturing tour that Member Bromley referenced, that we had gone with the Minister and many others, we had heard from Saskatchewan officials, one in particular – I believe he was a bioengineer of some sort or a biochemist – and he put great emphasis on the quality of the water being used and the fact that they’re not monitoring the fracking fluids that go in and come out. In their case, yes, they agreed that

they go in and then much of it comes out, but they don’t know where it goes after that.

I suggested, well, why don’t we put tracers or markers in these things so we have what’s called quality assurance programming, so we know what’s happening, and when something does happen, we can trace it back to where the problem is. But the way it stands in Saskatchewan, nobody knows.

I guess my question, if I may sort of pull it together, is simply this: What type of quality assurance monitoring programs will be developed in this fracking policy, and has the policy looked hard enough to ensure that the water monitoring and quality assurance is there, to ensure Northerners are safe and protected? Thank you.

As I’ve indicated, this guidance document, in draft form, has been worked on for quite some time and we are specifically sending it to committee for their review and their feedback. So we’re not in the position, since the Member hasn’t seen the document yet, to have that discussion.

It is on its way to committee and we will look forward to having that feedback and discussion with them on a go-forward basis. Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister’s answer. I think what’s important here today in the dialogue, are these are some of the concerns we’re going to build on, and certainly we want Northerners to give us feedback.

Earlier today it was talked about the Bakken. There was a rupture in the pipeline and 20,000 barrels of crude had spilled. For two weeks no one was informed. That was almost the exact same time this study tour was there.

One of the things that had arisen when we were in Alberta last year, talking to the BC regulators and the Alberta regulators, is about full disclosure of information.

I ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources: Is there a context being considered about a public registry to ensure full disclosure of information from the start to the finish, be it accidents or chemicals or process, to ensure that the public is fully aware what’s happening? I’m going to ask him, are they contemplating a public registry.

Mr. Speaker, we have pulled together a guidance document that captures best practices, and we are looking forward to the feedback from committee, once they’ve had a chance to review it. It contains a whole host of such practices and we will look forward to whatever advice they can give us. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing a point that this is going to be before committee and it’s tough for the Minister to answer all the questions, the one thing I would notice is clear contrast between North Dakota and even Saskatchewan, in this case, and the Northwest Territories is public land ownership versus private land ownership. One of the things they can’t seem to get control of is pace of development. It seems they’re in such a hurry to get it out of the ground, and it’s focused around the interests of these oil companies.

My question for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources is: What type of mechanisms does he envision to help us control the pace of development, so if this is the path we choose, we go at a northern pace designed around what Northerners want and definitely what Northerners expect? Thank you.

We have, and we are going to be taking over April 1st , a lot of the

authorities through the Devolution Agreement. We have an environmental assessment process that is in place. There are further regulatory adjustments being made. We have a close working relationship with the Aboriginal governments across the Northwest Territories, especially in the Sahtu where this oil play is taking place.

As a government, we have a stated commitment as we go forward, to this balance between economic development and protecting the environment, which we hold very clear as a priority. So when you combine all of those things and we’re going to work with committee on feedback on this guidance document, for example, I think we have the pieces in place to manage this development as we have managed other developments in the past effectively, and we have learned very clearly from some of the things that have happened in the past; for example, some of the other mining developments. As it comes to oil and gas, we are working very diligently to make sure we’re prepared and ready. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.