Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the federal government is moving forward on the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction. I have had the opportunity to meet the federal Minister responsible in cooperation and collaboration with my provincial and territorial counterparts, where we had an opportunity to explain some of the realities that we face in our different jurisdictions, talk about some of the actions that we are undertaking, and provide some advice on a broad approach on addressing poverty at a national level.

Mr. Speaker, I know that the federal government has also been doing a number of engagements across Canada, including the Northwest Territories, and we have had our staff attend, sometimes as observers. Where many of the events that the feds were having were invite-only, we have asked that we be there as observers so that we can hear what people are saying and bring that information back to our people who are working on poverty reduction here in the Northwest Territories, but also as an opportunity for me to prep for the next meeting with the federal government where we will be talking about their poverty reduction plan at the next FPT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned in my statement, we need federal help in two priority areas: food and housing. I am wondering how the GNWT is planning to leverage Ottawa's interest in reducing high rates of poverty in the NWT by making changes to programs such as lobbying for changes to Nutrition North and the CMHC declining funding?

The federal government has already indicated that they have already begun flowing some dollars to the Northwest Territories to address housing specifically, some dollars that they have flowed to the IRC. The Minister responsible for Housing is going to a meeting with Minister Duclos, I think next week, where they are going to discuss the exact issues the Member is referring to, housing. With respect to Nutrition North, Mr. Speaker, we have had different individuals from Cabinet talk to their federal counterparts about our perspectives and trying to make a program that works for residents of the North.

If the Minister could share that information, that would be very useful to us. In the meantime, I am wondering what it will take to get these issues introduced into the federal engagement strategy along with roads.

These items are in our mandate. These are issues that, as individual Ministers, we bring up at the appropriate time at the appropriate FTPs to make sure that the federal government is aware of our realities, but also the realities of Canadians from other jurisdictions. We do raise those issues on a regular basis, and we are going to continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to re-ask that question because I did not hear an answer. We have a federal engagement strategy. It talks about infrastructure. Housing is infrastructure. I am wondering if we are going to see some of the issues raised in the poverty consultation in the federal engagement strategy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal engagement strategy is part of the work that we do as the Government of the Northwest Territories. We engage with stakeholders from all over the country, including Aboriginal governments here in the Northwest Territories and the federal government, on a regular basis. I have a number of mandate items that I am responsible for that did not appear in the federal engagement strategy, but that in no way, shape, or form limits my ability to raise those issues and fight on behalf of the residents of the Northwest Territories, which I and my colleagues are committed to doing and will continue to do, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Earlier today, I spoke about the current unsecured environmental liabilities at the Prairie Creek site. There are numerous buildings and pieces of infrastructure at the site that would require remediation. Can the Minister of Lands tell me the current amount of financial security held under the surface lease and water licence for this site? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Lands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can advise that the amount held is in excess of $2 million, broken down as follows: $1,550,000 is held as a guaranteed investment certificate under the water licence; $250,000 is held as cash under the surface lease; and an additional $275,000 is held as cash under land use permits, for a total amount of $2,075,000. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the response from the Minister, and that agrees with his written response to a written question I asked last year in the House. In doing some extra research, I noted that the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, in a June 14, 2013, decision on a water licence and land use permit by Canadian Zinc, found that the environmental liability at the site for what is there on the ground right now is about $9 million. We only hold a little over $2 million. That is a $7 million gap, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell me: what is his department doing to close that security gap between the liabilities that are at this site and what we actually hold?

Yes, I understand that the most recent cost estimates were carried out in 2013, where it was found that the current site liability is $9 million, and I understand that the way that we are looking at this is we are ensuring that the proponent is in compliance with all current security requirements. However, as the project proceeds, there may be a need for more security in the future.

I am worried about the liability that is on the ground now, and clearly, security that we have in place does not cover that. There is a $7 million shortfall, and I did not really hear a plan from the Minister to deal with it. I know that, as I mentioned earlier today, the surface lease for the site is in overhold tenancy. If our government moves to extend or renew the surface lease for the site, we may incur some additional liability. Will the Minister commit that he is going to seek legal advice to ensure that, by dealing with that lease in some way, it is not going to make us responsible for all the remediation at the site, and will he share that legal advice or opinion with the Regular MLAs on this side on a confidential basis?

Currently, the proponent, of course, is responsible for all remediation. The proponent holds the lease for mine site maintenance. The Government of the Northwest Territories is currently protected from the historic liability through the terms of the Devolution Agreement. Now, at some point in the future, Canadian Zinc, the proponent in this case, if they wish to begin negotiations for us to receive a surface lease authorizing the company to commence actual mining activities at the Prairie Creek site, the full amount of reclamation securities to cover the existing and historic liabilities for the mine site would be assessed by the GNWT. Now, it is a complicated legal issue. I will seek further legal advice on this, which I may share with the Members opposite.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

That is a tough act to follow, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I think I actually heard the word "will," not "may," but it is hard to say with the Minister. I look forward to chatting with him offline about that. That is one thing that, when we start to touch the surface lease in some way, we could be incurring some liability, but he is going to get something even sooner on his desk, perhaps. The Prairie Creek All-Season Road is going through an environmental assessment, as I said, and I don't want to put him in a difficult spot here.

That report of environmental assessment is going to land on his desk in the next several months, so what are the implications for our government in making a decision about that environmental assessment? As I had mentioned earlier, every time our fingerprints start to come out on these sites, it is going to become more challenging to convince the federal government that they are responsible. What are the implications of making a decision on the environmental assessment, with regard to our government's risk of incurring remediation liabilities? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The road involved, of course, does not only go across territorial lands, but also part of a national park. Now, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada will sign the decision letter for the Prairie Creek road environmental assessment, and we will contribute to the decision process, so it is a combination of us working with them once this is determined. I do share the Member opposite's concern about this. I think we all recognize that there can be downsides to development, but hopefully there is a sufficient regulatory system and security in place to allay those concerns.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency. Earlier today I spoke about some of the good work that the Minister and his staff are doing with regard to this. I also mentioned that there is a need to accelerate a number of the initiatives that we have made commitments to. I understand that the Minister and his staff are in the process of holding public engagement on the open government policy. I wonder: can the Minister inform us if this policy will be coming forward as a draft to the standing committee? In other words, when will Members see a copy of the draft? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member opposite is quite correct; we have been holding public engagement meetings throughout the Northwest Territories. We had the opportunity of visiting all of the ridings, and there was a total of 13 meetings; actually, 15 meetings, because there were two extra ones in Yellowknife, meetings with NGOs and the media. We are now preparing a What We Heard document. The last meeting with the public here in Yellowknife was a mere two weeks ago, and we are still receiving comments. A What We Heard document is in the process of being prepared, which will be tabled in this Assembly. Then Cabinet will be preparing a policy which we will, of course, take to the appropriate committee. Thank you.

Thank you to the Minister for his reply and for his commitment to bring forward a draft policy to the respective standing committee. We, of course, look forward to seeing what the department has heard during their consultation period. Mr. Speaker, for the record, can the Minister advise this House when he is planning to introduce ombudsman legislation?