Legislative Assembly photo

Roles

In the Legislative Assembly

Elsewhere

Crucial Fact

Historical Information Michael Nadli is no longer a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Last in the Legislative Assembly September 2019, as MLA for Deh Cho

Lost his last election, in 2019, with 47% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Question 42-17(1): Interim Dehcho Land Use Plan December 11th, 2011

My final question is to the Premier. Is there a timeline in terms of perhaps concluding the Dehcho Land Use Plan? I realize there have been a lot of discussions and pull towards concluding the Devolution Agreement. Will the Premier assure other First Nations, including the Dehcho First Nation, that their agreements would take precedence before the Devolution Agreement? Mahsi.

Question 42-17(1): Interim Dehcho Land Use Plan December 11th, 2011

I just want to ask the Premier: Is there any follow-up on what it is we can do in terms of helping out the process? How is this government planning to ensure that the success of the interim Dehcho Land Use Plan is completed? Mahsi.

Question 42-17(1): Interim Dehcho Land Use Plan December 11th, 2011

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I made a statement on the Dehcho Land Use Plan. My question is directed to the Premier. What is the Government of the Northwest Territories prepared to do to help move the Dehcho Land Use Plan forward so that it could be completed?

Interim Dehcho Land Use Plan December 11th, 2011

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I highlight the Dehcho Land Use Plan, which the Dehcho First Nations, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories have been working on for the past decade. Government and industry view the Northwest Territories with great interest because of the vast potential for natural resources. Equally, Northerners look upon the beauty of the North as a gift of which we each have responsibility to maintain the integrity of the environment.

In the Deh Cho region, the Interim Measures Agreement signed in 2001 states the following:

“The purpose of the plan is to promote the social, cultural and economic well-being of the residents and communities in the Dehcho Territory, having regard to the interests of all Canadians.”

With the completion of the interim Dehcho Land Use Plan, the parties can move beyond phase one negotiations, which will protect the land in the interim while negotiations move towards a final agreement.

In 2006 a draft land use plan was completed, but at that time governments did not support it because it set aside too much land for conservation and also it

was too complex to implement. Since then there have been efforts by all the parties to revise the Dehcho Land Use Plan by making changes to the regulatory mechanisms and zoning changes so that the Dehcho Land Use Plan could favourably be considered and reviewed by the parties.

There remain outstanding issues to move the Dehcho Land Use Plan forward. We all want to protect the land and also recognize a need for balance devolving for the Dehcho in the Northwest Territories.

I encourage all the parties to continue working and supporting the revision to the interim Dehcho Land Use Plan, and move it forward, and complete the course and help out the overall completion of the Dehcho process negotiations.

I will be raising questions in this regard later in the House today. Mahsi.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters December 8th, 2011

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have a couple of comments. We were talking on just the building design. One of my constituent communities had expressed a desire to see if there could be some discussions perhaps explored. I’m not familiar if those discussions have taken place. I’m talking about the Hamlet of Enterprise. They’ve indicated an interest to see if it is possible to look at maybe

making an addition to their hamlet office to see if there could be at least some possibilities of maybe placing some additional rooms to the hamlet office to house a temporary school. I wonder if the Minister or the department has perhaps engaged in discussion with the community of Enterprise whether there are at least some points of consensus to see if further discussions could take place.

I understand there’s a leadership election in the community of Enterprise. However, what I’ve thus far heard consistently is that there is a need for a school in Enterprise, and if perhaps the other department, Education, could maybe coordinate that so that maybe MACA could at least engage in discussion with Enterprise. Perhaps that’s been done, but I just wanted to know if there were discussions that have taken place.

Deh Cho Capital Infrastructure Requirements December 7th, 2011

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I am glad that I am able to make a statement on the 16th Assembly. In the 16th Assembly they said that

there would be a health centre that can be worked out in Fort Providence and with the new health

centre the Town of Fort Providence would benefit from that. [Translation ends]

…use of local expertise. There should be good local jobs and business stemming from this project. This is the kind of development the community will be proud of. The health centre is the only real capital project being carried over from the last Assembly, but there is a lot of other work that needs to be done in all Deh Cho communities.

I spoke recently about developing mine mass resources in Fort Providence. Just down the road, the people of Kakisa want to build a central heating centre for the community. They envision burning wood or wood products such as pellets. I strongly support the use of local resources to lower costs and create jobs in the communities. In this case, we would also replace fossil fuels with a renewable source of energy. This is part of managing our land. I hope this government will work with Kakisa on this project.

The need for capital is somewhat different in Enterprise. As Members know, there is no school in Enterprise. Each day all of the students are bussed to Hay River. People in the community understandably worry about having all the local kids arriving in one bus every day. This problem could be solved by adding classrooms to the hamlet building, particularly for the younger students. I will be raising this matter with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Finally, there is a need for a swimming pool at the Hay River Reserve. The community proposes that an addition be built at the Chief Lamalice Community Centre to house a pool. I am proud of these proposals from the Deh Cho communities. They are not huge projects; they are all practical and they all represent economical ways to meet the communities’ needs.

I look forward to working with these projects into our capital plan and getting the building itself underway. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and other Matters December 6th, 2011

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think it’s been fairly clear in terms of the path that is before us, at least for the past couple of weeks that we’ve been here. It’s fairly clear that we’re challenged with limitations and fiscal resources. At the same time we’re challenged with continuing to deliver programs and services and links that are vital to ensuring that our citizens and residents of the Northwest Territories enjoy their lifestyle here in the North, and ensuring that they bring up their families and ensuring that we have a future for all of us to share this part of Canada. It’s been very eye-opening for the past couple of weeks in terms of the challenges that are before us.

At the same time there are still needs and wants that our communities bring up periodically. Quite often we hear that there needs to be infrastructure at least brought to the communities in terms of schools, roads and so forth. There are still aspirations of local communities to ensure that there are programs and services at the same time delivered to communities and residents. There are still needs of communities that are not really reflected in this whole initiative at this time. I realize that.

What is very interesting for me, at least from my perspective, is that some common themes I’ve heard from all of us thus far is that there is a need because we’re challenged with delivering the programs and services to our residents at the same time we’re challenged with creating new capital infrastructure projects. We need to try to make less; we need to do more with less resources at this time. Some common themes that I’ve been hearing is that we need to integrate. Perhaps we need to decentralize, or else we need to maybe look at better cooperation with communities and local governments, or regional governments and partnerships. Those are a few signals that I’ve been seeing thus far.

I like what I’m hearing. I think we’ve started off at the gates where we kind of took off and I see some positive signals that we’re undertaking. My hope and sense of optimism at this point is that all is not lost in terms of the communities that still aspire to get the services that they want. For example, in Kakisa they’re still very interested in a central heating system so that they have an alternative to the fossil fuels that they burn at this point. In Enterprise there’s still a need for them to realize their wish to see a school established in their community. On the reserve in Hay River – K’atlodeeche – they still aspire to create services for their youth. My hope is that those wishes of the communities will not be lost in the shuffle, that somehow governments and departments will ensure that in the spirit of trying to work with everybody that people will listen. At the same time, try to be creative and work with communities and local leaders, residents, to ensure that, yes, we are challenged with finding the funds that perhaps are non-existent at this time, but ensuring that we could perhaps make things possible by realizing the aspirations of communities by working together.

Question 20-17(1): Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) December 6th, 2011

Thank you. I don’t have any questions, but perhaps maybe at some point I’d like to perhaps get a briefing from the Minister in terms of what it is, perhaps that could be considered in terms of a management regime to mitigate the whole practice of hydraulic fracking. Perhaps the Minister could make that available, if perhaps there are some discussions at that time. Mahsi.

Question 20-17(1): Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) December 6th, 2011

The Minister has indicated that there is some level of cooperation with the federal government. I wonder if the department is considering, perhaps, some unique ways in terms of how this whole new practice will be introduced to the North. Hopefully at some point the department will consider some unique ways that are northern based, to ensure that the environment is not compromised and understand that there’s some positive development in terms of the Water Stewardship Strategy. I understand water is very vital to the people of the Northwest Territories, so I wanted to know if the Minister is considering some unique northern, perhaps, solutions to this practice that’s eventually going to come to the North. Mahsi.

Question 20-17(1): Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) December 6th, 2011

The Minister has indicated that there has been some consideration in terms of what other jurisdictions have undertaken. I wonder if the Minister and the department have considered as an option, seeming that there are some other initiatives – one of them is a moratorium on evictions on housing – a moratorium on hydraulic fracking in the North. Mahsi.