Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement. I want to ask the Minister with regard to the project team’s response to the environmental assessment on the Giant Mine.
On October 21
this House passed a motion which
said, “that the Government of the Northwest Territories accept the measures and suggestions contained in the report of the environmental assessment,” and that motion was passed by the House.
Eleven days later the project team released a letter to the public, and that was signed by an assistant deputy minister from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. I’m finding it very difficult that we have, as a government, a motion that was passed to accept the recommendations of this report and we then get a response signed by an assistant deputy minister of one of our government departments which basically refutes the recommendation.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he can explain to the House who authorized the signing of the letter which was the response to the MVERB’s report.