Mr. Chair, I can see we’re providing for that. To the extent we can beforehand would be a lot cheaper than doing it last minute when we understand we have to get some into some places. It’s going to be more expensive to get it there, likely. So I think it is a good investment there.

That’s really all the questions I had. I know this is a very challenging area. I think the Minister has taken my points, such as they are. I’m sure they are not new to him. There is a big challenge here and it is

probably not going to get better in the foreseeable future. I’m assuming that the Minister will be ensuring that we have discussions to try and assess out whatever possibilities there are to try and manage these issues. That’s all the questions I had. Thank you.

I have just two quick comments. The issue with avgas is you have to make sure you have it there ahead of time, because if you don’t have it and you need it, chances are it’s going to take a week, 10 days, sometimes two to three weeks if it has to come in by truck, so you’re really up against it.

Yes, absolutely, we will be continuing to come forward to committee with big reviews, all the matters pertaining to firefighting behaviour along with the very many other ENR issues that we routinely come to committee with. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to address a question to the Minister. Just recently there was a report of a fire that is smoldering underneath the ground level between Fort Providence and Fort Simpson. I was wondering if there’s going to be any impacts on further costs. I know the fire season is over, but we’re kind experiencing perhaps different forest fires from year to year, so I just wanted to pose the question.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have our eye on that fire. At this point, as the Member has indicated, the fire season is over and the resources are, for the most part, not around. We know that the one resource that we can pretty well count on for the next six months is going to be Mother Nature, between the rain and the snow and the cold, to knock that fire down. Whether it will go down deep enough to actually put it out, we’ll see in the spring, but that is the state of the status at this point. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, it kind of begs the question in terms of how the department might be approaching the next forest fire season. I know he has stated what is assessed in approaching these kinds of fires are the values at risk. Would there be a fairly consistent policy from the previous years in prioritizing how it is that we mobilize resources on these forest fires coming this year? Thank you.

Mr. Chair, we have a very clear policy as it pertains to the values at risk, starting with safety, people, communities and infrastructure and then we move back from there. As we saw this summer in the Deh Cho, for example, there were a number of fires in their communities and we pulled all our resources available, plus we brought in whatever we had to, to

protect those values at risk. That policy and criteria is very clearly laid out. Thank you.

No further questions.

Forest management, special warrant, $13.894 million.

Total department, special warrant, $13.894 million.

Does committee agree that we have concluded consideration of TD 135-17(4), Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2013-2014?

Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 135-17(4), Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2013-2014, be now concluded and that a Tabled Document 135-17(4) be reported and recommended for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order.

The motion is carried.

---Carried

As agreed, we’ll go to Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act. We’ll go to the Minister responsible, Mr. Abernethy, to introduce the bill.

I am pleased to be here today to speak about Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its review of this bill.

The purpose of the Protection Against Family Violence Act is to provide emergency and long-term protection for victims of family violence. The act also allows emergency access to assist a person who may be the subject of family violence.

In 2011 an evaluation examined the first five years of the act’s operation, to determine how the

legislation was meeting its goals. The recommendations from the evaluation prompted departmental staff to identify several issues that could benefit from legislative amendments. In the 2012 Nuttal v. Kikoak decision, Justice Schuler, senior judge of the Supreme Court, ruled that she was unable to vary an emergency protection order error unless a separate court-ordered hearing was held to make the correction.

This legislation corrects an ambiguity within the current act, and provides the Supreme Court with authority to vary an emergency protection order during the review process, rather than having to convene a separate hearing. It also provides the department the authority to review emergency protection order transcripts for training and evaluation purposes, and increases the maximum fine under the act to underscore the seriousness of making a false statement or breaching a protection order.

I would be pleased to answer questions that the committee members may have regarding Bill 17.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Programs, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act, on September 17th . A

clause-by-clause review was conducted the same day. The committee thanks the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

The bill removes an ambiguity in the act respecting the duration of emergency protection orders. It also gives the Supreme Court authority to correct minor defects in emergency protection orders and it allows the Minister to review emergency protection order transcripts for research, evaluation and training purposes. The bill also increases the maximum fine for offences under the act.

Following the committee’s review, a motion was carried to report Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act, to the Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

This concludes the committee’s opening comments on Bill 17. Individual Members may have additional questions or comments as you proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses in?