This is page numbers 2581 – 2616 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 4th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was report.

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Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Environment and Natural Resources

As Minister I have the authority to act on conservation issues, on emergency issues. Other than that, I am bound and obligated and intend and have to follow the work that’s done through the process involving the various boards, the work that they do that are public boards. They make recommendations and we’re involved in those with our staff as well, but the recommendations come back up through the system. It’s a system that has served us well. We

need to make sure that we continue to use that system. We’re going to do that.

These discussions take time. These are very complex areas. They are multi-jurisdictional. Not only multi-jurisdictional within the Northwest Territories but in the case of the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq herd, it flows into, as well, Nunavut. We have a lot of jurisdictions to deal with and a process that we have to follow. We want to make sure we do that. They do very good work and they will do that again in this case, and we are looking by the fall of this coming year, 2013, to be able to sort out what changes will be made to the existing restrictions.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We just can assume or will assume that the Minister has had some meaningful consultations with a number of our caribou commercial outfitters here in the NWT. These outfitters have been waiting for years to get back to their livings and livelihood in the industry.

In his discussions, as we hope, has there been an indication as to the number of tags that these outfitters would require to get back into the game?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Minister of Environment and Natural Resources

What the outfitters used prior to the hunting ban was in the neighbourhood of a total of 700 tags, many of which weren’t used annually.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier, my questions today are for the Premier. I’d like to ask a few questions relating to my statement earlier today.

We heard yesterday, we have heard earlier this week, that we are embarking on a consultation and an engagement process. The Premier, yesterday, in answer to my questions, laid out next steps, but in those next steps I didn’t hear any indication of the provision of information on how the Devolution Final Agreement will be implemented.

I’d like to know from the Premier if he can advise whether or not the public engagement process, whether there’s an intent to educate residents about implementation of the Devolution Final Agreement or is it simply to advise people of the content of the Devolution Final Agreement.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Question 235-17(4): Devolution Consultation
Oral Questions

Yellowknife South

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, to both parts.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you to the Premier. I’ve very glad to hear that we will be talking about implementation. I hope that’s a very large focus of the public engagement process.

With regard to implementation, our government has already done a great deal of work. They’ve been working on implementation for probably a year or more. I’d like to know, to date, what steps the government has taken to inform the public, to advise the public of what this new GNWT will look like after April 1st .

Question 235-17(4): Devolution Consultation
Oral Questions

Yellowknife South

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

We put a significant amount of information on the website, and as we go forward with organization design, we will also provide that on the website. We will also provide for that as we go around to all of the communities in the Northwest Territories.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you to the Premier. It’s one thing to put information on a website and expect that people will go there. I haven’t seen much that advertises that website, so I would hope that there’s going to be significantly more effort put in to trying to get that information out there.

One of the things that I have heard as a concern, and this is from a news article recently, it stated there are concerns that the environment and the preservation of the land will take a backseat to the exploitation of energy and minerals. This is referencing after April 1, 2014, when we have control.

When we do have control of our lands, water and resources, will the GNWT maintain the same level of environmental monitoring and assessment that we have today?

Question 235-17(4): Devolution Consultation
Oral Questions

Yellowknife South

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

It seems like just yesterday that some of the Members from across the way were quoting from the Commissioner of the Environment, who was complaining about the fact that the federal government was only doing 20 percent of the required land inspections. I’m sure we can do better than that, but if the Member wants us to maintain that level, we can do that too.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through you to the Premier, I absolutely don’t want us to do worse than what we think we might do, but I have heard nothing which says that we’re going to do better than what we have already from the feds.

The Premier mentions that there’s a lot of work been done. I wonder if the Premier could give us some idea of how our new government will be structured after April 1, 2014.

Question 235-17(4): Devolution Consultation
Oral Questions

Yellowknife South

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Premier

I don’t want to get ahead of committee, and I’ve committed to committee that we will bring the organizational design, and once

we’ve had input from committee, I’ll be pleased to make it available to the public.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Quite a few years back, the Berger Commission, of course, travelled all over the NWT, and in his report he outlined that before any major development happened, there had to be an effort in particular areas. Recently, there was a vision that envisioned that there would be a network of protected areas from the Yellowstone to the Yukon. Of course, with the initiative on the Protected Areas Strategy in the NWT, it’s brought international recognition.

My question to the Minister: What is the Government of the Northwest Territories’ position on the candidate protected areas in the Deh Cho?

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories has been fully involved in the Protected Areas Strategy. We have considerable resources invested in that process. We are intent on carrying on with the intent of that process.

There’s going to be a change in relationships here. The federal government is going to be stepping to the side and we are going to be playing a leadership role. We know in the Deh Cho that we are going to conclude Edehzhie and the other candidate areas. We are going to continue to work with the communities and the other stakeholders. We’ve had discussions and I’ve had discussions with the Minister of Environment about the resources that have been identified for these processes and these nominated wildlife areas to ensure that we, in fact, inherit and continue to have some of that funding that was voted by the federal government.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

The Protected Areas Strategy initiative has been long established. It’s a tripartite arrangement, as the Minister outlined, between the Government of the Northwest Territories, the federal government and First Nations. What’s really important to recognize is it’s an eight-step process that’s basically driven by communities. The Government of the Northwest Territories has suddenly stepped back from the Protected Areas Strategy process. Can the Minister explain this decision?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Our commitment to that process remains unabated.

We’ve had recent meetings with the leadership of the Deh Cho about making sure that we can conclude the land use plan, setting up bilateral meetings between the governments so that we can talk about and resolve issues. I’ve met for a number of hours with the leadership from the Deh Cho on the Wildlife Act to try and resolve their concerns about the Wildlife Act, mainly as it pertains to their land claims. We are fully engaged in that. At that same time, we’re in a transition period as the federal government is going to exit stage left in this area and we’re going to take on a bigger role.

The work is there. We’re going to make sure we make full use of that work. We’re going to review the processes, and we know we have to do work on our northern tools so that when we look at our options, now that we have devolution, we have to be certain that we make full use of all the arrows in our quiver as it pertains to the tools we have to deal with the protected areas.

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

One community in particular is trying to advance protected areas, and they’ve been working on that for a long time, especially elders that have committed to believing that this process will work on behalf of the communities. PAS areas throughout the North would benefit all Northerners.

What options are available to the Dehcho to continue to advance areas for permanent protection?

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

The protected area process has eight steps to it. Most of the candidate areas in the Member’s constituency, I believe, are around step five. In my time in government, it has been a process that is… The wheels grind very slow and fine in terms of advancing nominations through the system. We’re committed to that system. We’re going to adjust for devolution, but we’re still fully committed to that. We’re committed to the land use plan in the Deh Cho. We’re committed to concluding our Land Use and Sustainability Framework as a territorial government, so that that broad framing policy gives us the clarity we need to go forward at these various tables, and we’re going to examine more closely the northern tools that are there that have been talked about but, for the most part, underutilized to this point.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

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

Michael Nadli

Michael Nadli Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister assure this House that the pause that the government is taking at this point will not put into peril the PAS process and jeopardize committee funding. Mahsi.