Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week I made a statement in this House about contaminated lands in Hay River that are owned by and leased to NTCL. There are many sites in Old Town that are strewn with old equipment, rusted barges, derelict buildings, and garbage. I'm concerned that, if this government doesn't take the lead on remediation, those sites will remain in that condition for yet another generation. However, the answers I was receiving when I brought this up from the Minister of Lands led me to believe that this government was waiting to see how the NTCL saga played out and would then look into what action they could take. I wasn't happy with their lack of a plan, and today I was going to make another statement and try and spur the government to action.
Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to say that I don't have to make that statement. I was offered a briefing on the situation by the Minister of Lands and received that briefing today over lunch. It was presented by the interdepartmental working group that is tasked with creating a plan to deal with the environmental eventualities related to NTCL. It was an expensive room. The Ministers of Lands and ENR were in attendance along with the deputy minister of Lands, the Lands ADM of planning coordination, the acting deputy minister of ENR, ENR's director of environment, and legal counsel from the Department of Justice.
I'm glad to report that I'm encouraged by the work that the departments are doing, and I want to assure the residents of Hay River that the government isn't just sitting on their hands. They're creating and assessing an inventory of sites, preparing for different possible outcomes, and engaging with the appropriate federal agencies. This doesn't mean that I can stop doing my due diligence. I will continue to press the departments and ensure that they keep on top of their responsibilities because this issue affects my town, my constituency, and my neighbourhood. However, I am now more optimistic and look forward to helping clean up Hay River and create jobs remediating the land in the process. So a good news story, and congratulations and kudos to the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.