Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. I will take that as a comment. Committee, page 383, sport, recreation and youth, operations expenditure summary, $6.792 million. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I questioned the Minister last week on a concept and the Minister responded positively to an idea. Given the 260-some-odd days left in our term, is there a possibility of looking at a pilot project like they had with the old TEST program. There are some athletes that are very gifted in the small communities and our centres. There are athletes who are going to school and are just all around in our communities. I wonder if there’s any type of discussion or looking at this from a territorial perspective. The TEST program was successful because of the dedication of staff, people, the athletes themselves and the community. It was just a long-term program that produced world-class athletes.

I wanted to say this because in our small communities there are special challenges that some of our young people have to endure and to excel at some of the sports and recreational activities that they have. I thought it would be a good idea to look at a pilot project, take a group of grade sevens and eights and say we’ll do this for you over the next four or five years, build a team. These are good, young athletes. I’d like to see how this group of athletes would do in the community, the school, academics and excel in sports. I’d like to see if something like that could be looked at by this department.

This department is very valuable to small communities. I’ve seen a lot of good work happening in our communities with recreation and youth. I’ve seen it more so in the smaller communities like Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake, Deline and Tulita. There are lots of young ones who are excited in this area here. The department has done a lot of good work in our communities in this area. There are natural-born, gifted athletes in our communities. Some of them we miss sometimes. I’m just thinking out loud here. I know that got some programs. I have already seen the programs for athletes that are aspiring to the Canada Winter Games, Pan Am Games, for the Olympics, in that capacity and they are doing quite well. There are other ones who need a little more attention and care. So, I thought this would be a good pilot to look at.

There is a group of students and young athletes in our communities and we could also monitor how they are doing in school. Are they staying away from alcohol and drugs? It is disciplined to be up there with world-class athletes. Are they doing well in the community? Are they bringing pride to the North and their community? What else do we need to do for them? The communities are so far apart and it’s a lot of work, so I’m not sure how it will be discussed at this level. It might not be a level that would get support because of the cost and funding. I understand that.

The town of Norman Wells has a karate club there. There are just young kids all over. Even to do something like that with them would be good. They have a club going with volunteers and there are little kids there five and six years old. If we had something like that, that would help them out in the community. It doesn’t take very much to get a gym, get some G’s and get a club going. They are great at five and six, so by the time they’re in Grade 12 they will show some good promise. I’m thinking that type of thinking.

We don’t have a swimming pool, so we can’t do like students in Yellowknife do and go swimming. We have good swimmers but we can’t do that, only in the summer. We’ve got a swimming pool we open up; it’s called the Mackenzie River.

We need some thinking on this to get kids moving and bring self-esteem and discipline to the kids. They are in a tough battle dealing with alcohol and drugs, gangs and violence. That world is coming to our communities now and we need to prepare them. They need to build the skills to meet the challenge and overcome it. I’m thinking about that, about these young kids in today’s society. There are lots of good people and communities.

Just last week in Norman Wells they had a parent-child hockey tournament, which is good. I’m just thinking out loud, so I’m going leave it at that. Those are my only comments for MACA.

I think MACA in my region is doing well, very good. I’m happy to see, contrary to my colleagues, what they are doing with the NGO Stabilization Fund. I’m supportive of that; I think it’s a good thing. I just wanted to say that to the Minister. If we can do some things to help our young people deal with some of today’s issues, I’m hoping it can be looked at within the 262 days. Mahsi cho.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The NWT has a lot of natural athletes. I have heard that a number of times. We just don’t have the benefits of some of our larger jurisdictions’ level of competition.

The Member makes a good point and there may be some merit to that. One of our sporting partners is

actually looking at something along those lines, the centre of excellence Program, or we would have a number of our higher performing athletes in one central place. There is some merit to that. We’ve asked for a business case as to how to move this forward. I don’t think it’s something that’s going to happen overnight.

We have to be prepared for 2023 when the Canada Winter Games is going to come to the Northwest Territories. There is some merit to that. Through the number of programs that we offer, we give young people an opportunity to be active. Some take us up on it and they start to progress through the athletic stream, then there are some commitments that they have to make on their behalf. Some of that commitment may require moving away from home for a while to train with others in their field. So there is a huge commitment. We will do what we can, as a department and as a government, to put the tools in place. We will commit to doing our part.

We need to see our young people, too, doing their part. It’s not only becoming elite athletes, it’s all about becoming active. There is a progression. We have seen what committed athletes who are committed to their training can do on the national scene and the international scene. We will do what we can to put tools in place. At the same time, we need that commitment from our young people to take us up on some of the options that we put forward for them. There is some merit to that. Again, come 2023 we want to make sure that the NWT is competitive. The past number of Canada Games that I’ve attended, I see us becoming more and more competitive. That’s just based on the natural ability of a lot of our athletes. If we get them the training of the competition, I think that will start making more noise. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Committee, we are on page 383, sport, recreation and youth, operations expenditure summary, $6.792 million. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Page 384, sport, recreation and youth, grants, contributions and transfers, total grants and contributions, $4.987 million.

Does committee agree?

Thank you. Page 386, sport, recreation and youth, active positions. Any questions?

Thank you. Page 387, work performed on behalf of others. Any questions?

Thank you, committee. If I can get you to turn to page 351, Municipal and Community Affairs, total department, $101.477 million.

I’m sorry; I will repeat that number: $103.477 million.

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is completed?

Thank you, committee. I’d like to thank our witnesses here today. Mr. Schauerte, Mr. Williams, thanks for joining us. Of course, Minister McLeod, it’s always a pleasure to have you here. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could escort the witnesses out of the Chamber, please. Thank you.

Committee, we’ll just take a two-minute recess.

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Alright, committee, we’ll continue on with the Department of Lands. With that, I’ll turn it over to the Minister responsible for opening comments, Minister McLeod.

I am pleased to present the 2015-2016 Main Estimates for the Department of Lands. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $2.438 million, or 9 percent, over the 2014-2015 Main Estimates.

Highlights of the proposed estimates include:

• $2.8 million in new initiatives. These initiatives

are funded from the reserve set aside by this Assembly for devolution impacts identified after the 2014-2015 Main Estimates were considered by this Assembly. These initiatives include:

o

$1.006 million for the new liabilities and

financial assurances division to manage and coordinate the financial assurances for resource development projects to ensure that companies meet their obligations for environmental liabilities. We want this government to improve on the inherited federal system by developing and managing environmental liabilities and appropriate financial assurances through whole project assessment, in collaboration and coordination with GNWT regulatory departments and central agencies.

o

$133,000 for one new resource

management officer Ill position in the North Slave regional office for diamond mine inspections associated with the Gahcho Kue

Mine. Over 40 percent of the resources of this department are invested in land administration to ensure the lawful use of land and protection of this public asset. Key to that protection is our aggressive regional-based inspection and enforcement program, guided by a rigorous risk assessment tool. Our inspection program must be responsive to the growth in diamond and other mining sectors.

o

$694,000 for strategic investments to

support this Assembly's priority to diversify and help grow the economy, by establishing a Western Arctic Centre for Geomatics in Inuvik.

o

$290,000 for a coordinator and legal advisor to continue with the coordinating role for GNWT input into the federal Regulatory Improvement Initiative and the amendments to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act and to help ensure the NWT Surface Rights Board is established and operational by April 1, 2016. New regulations being contemplated under the act will be largely administered by this government through its new delegated authorities. A coordinated approach will maximize our influence in shaping the regulatory regime and help minimize our exposure to administrative burdens under new regulations. This work is planned for completion in the next three years.

o

$51,000 to respond to this government's

priority to provide French language communication and services;

o

$456,000 to fund compensation and benefit impacts and transition allowances payable to some transferring federal employees under the terms of the Devolution Agreement; and

o

$557,000 for Collective Agreement

increases.

• This department held the line on expenditure

management with no forced growth other than Collective Agreement increases.

• We are further responding to the government's

fiscal pressures through ongoing reductions to the operating base totaling $297,000 and sunsets of $452,000 for onetime funding in support of our first year of operation.

The proposed estimates continue to support the priorities of the 17th Assembly. Specific activities in support of these priorities include:

• Significant progress since taking over the

management of public land in the Northwest Territories on April 1st . Over the last 10 months

we have been building our foundation, first-time filling our positions and amalgamating federal

and GNWT programs and services. We recognize the importance of our human resources. In support of the 17th Assembly's priority to invest in people, in our first nine months we have invested over $108,000 in training our staff.

• We have also made significant progress across

the department towards implementation and monitoring of the Land Use Sustainability Framework. We are developing policy frameworks for recreational land management and effective land use planning in all regions of our territory. We have continued to make progress on the implementation of the Surface Rights Board Act. We have conducted 600 inspections as of December 31st . We have done

this while providing advice and support to government-wide decision-making and departmental coordination for significant resource development and security reviews.

• The Western Arctic Centre for Geomatics will

capitalize on the investments this government is making in the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link and on opportunities presented by the lnuvik Satellite Station Facility and space agencies to secure data and use remote sensing tools and technology for baseline monitoring.

• This department recognizes that this

government is only one partner in an integrated land management system. Land management decision-making must recognize and respect Aboriginal and treaty rights as well as third-party land interests and legal rights. We have begun to work with our stakeholders and Members in developing policies that meet the needs of all Northerners.

This government has made clear their interest and identified priorities for this department, and we are better positioned now to fulfill properly our mandate. I am committed to engaging with Members on a regular basis as we go forward and as we roll out these new initiatives.

This concludes my opening remarks. I look forward to Members’ comments and questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Minister McLeod, do you have any witnesses you’d like to bring into the House?

I do, Mr. Chair.