Thank you. Such power. The Minister can shove aside the environmental rights of our citizens at his will.

Under Section 4.(4) the Minister is obliged to carry out an investigation and that the only reason that the Minister may discontinue an investigation is whereas per section 4.(6) “the Minister is of the opinion that the release or the likely release does not constitute a threat to the environment.”

Is the Minister of the opinion that the release of unknown contaminants into the environment does not constitute a threat to the environment and the public trust? Mahsi.

Thank you. What I am satisfied with is that we have a process under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, with the boards, with the environmental assessments that were done, the Sahtu Land and Water Board, with the NEB that addressed the issues, that we have a piece of legislation that pre-dates those acts. It does not have the ability to overrule federal legislation just from a legal point of view, and even if it did, I don’t believe that would be a requirement because I don’t think there are the concerns raised by the Members. I think it’s been covered by the NEB, by their document, by their new filings, and as we move forward there will be continued full disclosure, and as we take over we will be putting in place those best practices as well. Thank you.

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

Thank you. Clearly, the Minister is breaching through smoke and mirrors now. The NWT Environmental Rights Act is clear. The Minister is obliged to investigate the environmental rights of our citizens in our own legislation for the Northwest Territories people. We all know that in spite of talk of best practices, things don’t always go according to plan. When something does happen, how will he explain to NWT taxpayers that they are on the hook for a polluted lake and that he refused to even investigate when he had a legal obligation to do so? Hopefully it’s as small a concern as that. Mahsi.

Thank you. Those concerns are captured in the approvals and in all the conditions that were attached through the approvals for those two projects. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up on my Member’s statement on Highway No. 7 with the Minister of Transportation. I’d like to know the type of investment in Highway No. 7 for the years 2014-15. Can he outline how much work they will be doing to Highway No. 7 for the next fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. In the plan, DOT has $3 million scheduled for 2014-15. That would be used for resurfacing and chipsealing sections of that highway. Thank you.

Thank you. Just in terms of chipsealing a section of Highway No. 7 from the B.C. border towards Fort Liard, it’s about 36 kilometres. Twenty kilometres of it has already been reconstructed, so we’re looking at reconstruction of another 16 kilometres. Residents are looking for chipsealing some of those kilometres, the ones that have already been constructed, about 20 kilometres. Is that in the plan? Thank you.

Thank you. That is part of the plan, plus I think there will be some more gravel put on some other parts of the highway, but chipsealing the balance of that is part of the plan.

I am glad to hear that. Also, recent developments around Fort Liard, Highway No. 7, lots of traffic coming through. There’s some exploration going on across from Fort Liard. I’d like to know, does the Minister know if industry is also helping us invest in our roads this particular summer and perhaps this winter as well. Thank you.

Thank you. The department has been discussing with industry, increased usage of the road due to economic activity. So, yes, the department is aware of that and has been discussing the possible impacts to the road with industry.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. At the end of my Member’s statement, I also invited the Minister to come and tour Highway No. 7 and speak with the chief of Fort Liard. His first reaction was I’m glad there’s a new Minister, but that Minister must come and ride Highway No. 7 probably closer towards the springtime if we can organize it. Can the Minister do that? Thank you very much.

Thank you. I would like to travel down Highway No. 7 with the Member,

provided I drive. I’m afraid he will hit every pothole. Thank you.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I will have some questions for the Minister of ITI dealing with a different type of industry in the Northwest Territories and that’s the film industry.

We have a growing and a strong, dynamic group of individuals in the Beaufort-Delta region, as well as here in Yellowknife. There was a report that came out called the Review of the Film Commission Mandate, so I want to ask the Minister, has there been any progress on work being developed on rebates for people that want to come up and do work, production companies that want to come up to the North and do work. Has there been any progress in looking at rebates for the film industry? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Work does continue in that area. We have an application into CanNor, seeking some funding to allow us to continue to look at the best possible way to rebate or provide grants. Tax incentives obviously aren’t going to work here, are deemed not to be the best option. So we need to look at other options to attract more of the film industry and filming to take place here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you. Currently the Yukon government and the Nunavut government offer rebates. Why can’t the NWT come up with a policy of their own that offers rebates to some of these production companies? We have a very great group of individuals in the Northwest Territories looking at development and training.

Does the Minister see any type of funding to go into development and training for some of our individuals that are in the industry? Thank you.

Thank you. Work continues, again, in this area. It’s something we feel very strongly about. Obviously, it was highlighted, as well, in the Economic Opportunities Strategy. Last year we provided $114,000 to 12 recipients to help with film projects here in the NWT through our SEED program.

As we move forward, it is very important that we ensure that we get this right. We can’t just automatically create a program. We need to find where we fit in the scheme of things in providing

rebates or incentives to get filming taking place here in the Northwest Territories. We’ve had some great success. We need to see that success continue and it’s important, again, that we make sure that we get this right. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister mentioned there was a SEED program, and the SEED program for the current individuals and productions that do work in the NWT, there are some limitations such as the policy and the time and date of reporting.

I wonder if the Minister would look at reviewing the SEED policy and possibly adding more funding, increasing the funding that is allowed to these people in the film industry.