This is page numbers 3411 - 3440 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd 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 budget.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of ITI consider it a lost opportunity that Fortune Minerals decided not to build a refinery in the NWT for the minerals extracted from the NICO project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting opportunity for the Northwest Territories, not a lost opportunity. I appreciate the Member's interest in the area. Building the refinery is a massive undertaking and requires access to affordable energy, clean energy. It wouldn't have been feasible in the Northwest Territories.

That said, the fact that there is now going to be a mine operating here -- hopefully going to be a mine operating here, but we're tied into another Canadian jurisdiction, in my view is a reason to go back to the federal government and speak to them about the need for the green energy that I'm talking about, the need for transportation corridors, a need for the kind of investments that will, in fact, bring a project like that to light. So I see it as an opportunity, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if our government had any discussions with Fortune Minerals about refining the minerals extracted from the NICO project inside the NWT rather than a different province? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, apparently there were some early discussions with respect to this as a possibility. It didn't go very far, and it was before my time. It's not a conversation I've had despite having opportunities to meet with this company during the virtual roundup week. So, again, not something that occurred in great depth here. But, again, I do think the conversation can advance where, you know, we can now be part of the Canadian critical minerals and metals approach that's happening -- a strategy that's happening across Canada, and we can be an important part of that value chain. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, this project has not been finalized yet. So there is still time to negotiate a deal for this project to be built exclusively in the NWT. Can the Minister tell us if our government would welcome the economic opportunity of a mineral refinery such as that being built in Lamont County, Alberta, to instead be built in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think any Minister of ITI can ever say they don't want an opportunity to build any sort of new opportunities in the Northwest Territories. But realistically, Mr. Speaker, the Member makes an important point. This is not an operating mine yet. It still has some way to go. There still are some gaps to be bridged. And the conversation where I want to be having is, you know, what are any remaining barriers or challenges that they might face before becoming a successful operation here in the Northwest Territories and putting us on the map for critical minerals and metals.

Again, and the concern I would have with a refinery is the same concern you hear from so many industries - high cost of doing business, high cost of power, lack of transportation corridors. So Mr. Speaker, those are all issues that attach to really any investment, and that is where I do want to take that opportunity that I see here to be able to speak to colleagues, federal colleagues about ways to invest and grow the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.

Frieda Martselos

Frieda Martselos Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us what type of economic or other conditions would need to be met in the future to enable a refinery of this nature to be constructed in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Caroline Wawzonek

Caroline Wawzonek Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can speak to that a bit. One of the interesting elements would be actually access to more ore, to more minerals and metals. And fortunately, there are quite a large number of projects that are looking into those possibilities across the Northwest Territories. Although at the moment, that would be one barrier, is just simply not having access to enough. Another big one again, as I already mentioned today, Mr. Speaker, is more green energy opportunities which, again, is something that is a priority for this government. Another one, Mr. Speaker, being access to skilled labour, which again, similarly, is a theme we hear a lot here and one that I know the Minister of ECE is certainly live to and keen to see some advancement on. And last, Mr. Speaker, I'd suggest is generally looking at investor confidence, that individuals and businesses and investors are looking at the Northwest Territories and seeing the opportunities here to being on the critical minerals and metals value chain. We know that that opportunity's there. We know that they should have that confidence. But the more there is that buzz out there, the more likely we're going to see projects like this, whether a refinery or simply advanced mining, succeed. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of ENR. In doing research for my Member's statement today, I was unable to determine the date of the closure of the commercial caribou hunt. What was the actual date of the closure and what was the value of caribou meat at that time? For example, the Wild Cat Cafe and other restaurants used to sell caribou burgers. How much were they paying price per pound for that meat? Thank you.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, and I thank the Member for her questions. As we all are aware, the Bathurst caribou herd is facing serious conservation concerns and is currently at record low numbers. The government has worked closely with our wildlife co-management partners to put a range of management actions in place to support the recovery of this herd. It is important to note that the Wildlife Act and the regulations differentiate between commercial hunts and outfitting hunting.

In 2006, ENR began to reduce the number of tags issued to outfitting numbers given the conservation concerns for the Bathurst herd.

All residents, outfitters, and commercial harvesting of the Bathurst herd was suspended in 2010 when the herd fell from 470,000 to an estimated 3200. Commercial tags allow the tag holders to sell the game harvested. In the past, it was RWED, which was renewable -- Wildlife and Environment -- Economic Development -- sorry. So that was our former department. It was not involved in setting the price. So we weren't involved in setting it up, so yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

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Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That was a very long answer for my question. So I appreciate that you explained what RWED is because that has to do with my next question. And the reason for my statement, Mr. Speaker, was that I've had a lot of conversation with Indigenous hunters that have had meat seizures and they've raised concerns with me. So those same hunters have mentioned to me that when they've had their meat seized, the RWED officer was telling them which herd that the meat was from. So my next question is how does the RWED officer distinguish that in the field? Is there a field test or an inspection checklist that officers need to follow? Really, can an officer tell someone in the field what herd that caribou is from? Thank you.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, and I apologize to the Member for the longwinded answer but it's very important we get this information out there.

So it's not what the herd is, it's the mobile zone. So the mobile zone is the area where the caribou are. Last year we had the overlap of the Beverly and the Bathurst and the Bluenose. And again, it's where we have our collared animals and that's where we know where our herds are. It's important to note that it's illegal to harvest any caribou in that mobile zone and regardless of the herd. And I think every Tuesday it's updated. So we make sure that information, so people know where it is. We work closely with our co-management partners to make sure hunters are aware of where the zone is. I think in your Member's statement, you talked about GPS. We give them the coordinates. If you go to the camp, you can get that information so you know where the coordinates are.

In regards to I think it was -- yeah, I think that answers your question. Thank you.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn't ask about the mobile zone but I did want to -- I think that my point being is that it sounds like to hunters that they're actually saying this is this kind of caribou rather than explaining it's based on geographical location and that's likely the type of caribou that they're killing, not that it is. So that's just more of a comment, Mr. Speaker.

My next question is what happens to the seized meat? What measures are in place to ensure that it's not wasted and that it's being distributed to people that need it? Because it's not going to the hunters' families so I'd like to know where it ends up. Thank you.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

I thank the Member for her comment, and we'll make sure we get that messaging out there about the mobile zone.

So ENR becomes involved -- or notified of a potential infraction under the Wildlife Act. A renewable officer will initiate the investigation. If they believe that the animal was harvested illegally, they may then seize the caribou and start a legal process. While the investigation's underway, seized caribou are stored securely in a frozen state for evidence. As you are aware in the last budget, we are actually building another storage -- or building a place where we can store the seized caribou and that.

We're in a challenging state of trying to deal with the caribou, and it's getting -- the weather's getting warm right now. We then go to the justice of the peace, and then we work with them, who then gives us the ability to distribute the meat. So we give it to Indigenous governments out there. So the meat doesn't get spoiled. We do give it out as -- well, we need permission from the justice of peace to do that. We need the legal authorization to do that moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Great Slave.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just going to come quickly back to the Minister's comment around the GPS. I do just want to state that there has been some concerns that wrong GPS units have been entered into machines for hunters therefore forcing them into the mobile zone versus out. So I just wanted to make a comment on that. The Minister does not need to respond but perhaps being aware.

My last question is that in 1986, the Bathurst herd caribou numbers were recorded at 450,000. By 2021, the Bathurst herd numbers declined to 6,240. The Bluenose-East herd and the Ahiak herd numbers have grown in comparison to the Bathurst decline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

Page 3422

Shane Thompson

Shane Thompson Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and it's going to be a long answer on this one because I want to make sure we get the information out there.

In recent years, we have seen a decline in many caribou herds across the NWT and northern Canada. As you noted, the Bathurst herd declined from an estimated 47,000 in 1986 to 6,240 in 2021. At the time, we also saw a major decline in the Bluenose-East herd, declining from 120,000 in 2010 to 19,300 in 2018. The Beverly herd declined -- located to the east of the Bathurst herd was established at 103 in 2018. That's 103,000. And has been undergoing a slow decline in recent years. While the historical range of the Ahiak herd has extended in the NWT, they currently don't occur in the NWT but only in Nunavut.

Given the declines and the size of the barren land caribou herds, the GNWT has been working closely with wildlife co-management partners in the NWT to implement measures to support conservation recovery of these herds.

So we are working very much with our Indigenous hunters. And one of the questions the Member talked about -- or not -- said or heard about wildlife and that, we do have the opportunity to do community hunts, that we work with the Indigenous governments, but there's also caribou, moose, muskox out there as well, that opportunity to get wild meat out there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 909-19(2): Caribou
Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Question 910-19(2): Fort Good Hope Seniors Home
Oral Questions

February 22nd, 2022

Page 3423

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Housing who, I'm sure no one more in the territory, wants the Fort Good Hope seniors complex to open. So my first question is when is that going to occur?

The Speaker

The Speaker Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.