Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier if he can provide some clarity on his position towards carbon pricing. He has both made statements that he is supportive of the Pan-Canadian framework, and also that he is seeking an exemption. For those people who do not want that tax, that is a confusing message. Can the Premier clearly lay out his vision for a made-in-the-North carbon tax? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. The Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member has been reading too many newspapers because we are, as a government, taking action to deal with carbon pricing, and we have gone through one round of consultations across the Northwest Territories. I have said in this House many times that, with the federal government imposing a carbon price on all of Canada, we will do whatever is required. We have signed on to a nation-wide carbon pricing agreement, and we are continuing to go forward to implement our responsibilities. The federal government has recognized that. They have said that they will work with us, and that we will all be fully cognizant of the implications of imposing a carbon price on people in the Northwest Territories before we go ahead. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do read the newspaper, and so do my constituents. When they see what is going on with this issue, they are concerned. They want to know what the government plans to do. I appreciate that the Premier has laid out his responsibilities very clearly, and I applaud him for that, but what I asked him for was a clear vision. Is it going to be a revenue neutral option, or are we going to see a revenue grab for government to fund clean growth? We need some certainty here that it is not going to unduly impact our economy and take money out of the pockets of Northerners. Can the Premier at least give us some of those assurances? I am not looking for a detailed proposal. I am looking for a broad statement of where the Premier wants this to go, and I appreciate we have to consult. That is an important part of our process, but he has to have some idea of where he wants this to end up.

We always listen to our residents, and we have gone out twice. We are still in the middle of our second round of consultations. We are coming to a close. We are still hearing from stakeholder groups. We will soon be doing an analysis of the online survey responses. I know the Member is very eager for us to impose a carbon tax, and as I said, we have done modelling. We have done all the work necessary. We will get the results. We will sit down and come to a decision. I mean, we all know the federal government has announced a carbon tax.

I do not want to impose anything. I want to implement a carbon tax that is going to reduce our emissions, protect our environment, and support our clean growth economy. The Premier wants to do that, too. He signed the same declaration. I am glad we have the model, and I am glad we have all this information, but are we going to be able to implement all this information by the deadline in 2018? It is fast approaching, and we are still in the middle of the second round of consultations. Could the Premier provide some clarity on that? Are we going to hit our deadlines?

I should remind the Member that, when British Columbia imposed a carbon tax, the price of the gas at the pumps increased by $0.10 a litre; multiply that five times is what the federal government is suggesting. It could have an impact on all of us. I should say, as the Member talks about us dragging our feet, well, we are working with the federal government. We have done modelling. We are waiting for an analytical paper from the federal government. We were supposed to receive it by the end of August; now they are shooting for the end of September. Then we will have discussions with the federal officials so that the federal government will better understand how it will affect the unique nature of the Northwest Territories in implementation and how we deal with carbon pricing.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The nice thing about revenue neutral tax that puts money back into people's pockets is that they can pay for fuel at the pump, which right now is increasingly getting out of reach as our cost of living continues to climb. My final question for the Premier is: how is he working with our Indigenous government partners beyond this consultative effort? How is he working directly with them to ensure that their interests are respected in this process? Can we get an answer to that? Thank you.

At the national level, certainly the national Indigenous organizations or governments have been involved. They were fully involved in the four working groups that the federal government set up here in the Northwest Territories. We work very closely with the Aboriginal governments, and certainly we have had roundtables where we have invited people. We have made arrangements to fund people to attend these roundtables. We will take all of the results of that information and, going forward, we will fulfil all of our responsibilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Justice. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: what was the outcome of the Minister's engagement with the RCMP on the matter of overnight RCMP presence in Tsiigehtchic during break-up and freeze-up? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a result of the questions asked by the Member opposite in May, we did have correspondence from the RCMP, and I can advise the Member opposite that during break-up this year there were instances where RCMP members responded to immediate needs in the community of Tsiigehtchic and travelled quickly there by helicopter or boat. They were able to get there fairly expeditiously when required. Thank you.

The Minister previously reported on overnight RCMP patrols to Tsiigehtchic between January and March 31st. Can the Minister provide the most recent data?

I am very pleased to provide that update. Since January 1st, the RCMP members have spent 15 nights in the community, including four nights for the Tsiigehtchic Jamboree in March, participation in providing support for the Arctic Red River youth canoe trip in June, and participation in August with Canoe Days. I understand that, as of September 13th, the RCMP has conducted 15 overnight patrols and 36 day patrols to the community; compared, of course, to no overnight patrols in 2016, when they did not have a residence to stay in.

On average, how long does it usually take the RCMP to reach Tsiigehtchic compared to travel time during freeze-up and break-up?

I suppose it depends on the immediacy of the event that requires the police to go to the community. Obviously, if there was a helicopter available, they could get there very quickly. I understand sometimes, during freeze-up, members can access the community over a secondary ice road over the Arctic Red River. Clearly, it depends on the nature of the information that requires the RCMP to attend at the community. I am certain that they are able to get there in an expeditious way, if necessary, by helicopter.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we prepare for freeze-up, will the Minister ensure that he works with "G" Division to see if it is possible that we have an officer this fall to stay in the community at the same time as we have the nurse there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

While I will certainly bring that concern to "G" Division, I do not think I can guarantee that an officer would be able to remain in the community for that period of time. Thank you.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier, my statement was in regards to the Department of Fisheries and the responsibility of water and its resources. My question is to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, and the question is basically founded on the reality that, here in the NWT, we have about 1.3 million square kilometres to watch over. Can the Minister inform the House of how many DFO officers actively work in the NWT to enforce federal and GNWT laws respecting water? Mahsi.

Masi. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.