Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As outlined in the recently released Waste Resource Management Strategy and Implementation Plan, ENR, in partnership with MACA, is looking at a number of options to reduce, recycle, and better manage solid waste across the Northwest Territories. Materials recycling facilities, like the one in Edmonton the Member is referring to, they operate on much larger economies of scale than can be found in NWT communities. Given our small population base spread out over a very large area, the NWT will need to look at solutions. It is a lot different than those in southern jurisdictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government has made a commitment at the beginning of this Legislative Assembly to support the effective co-management of our caribou herds. As you know, many of our herds are experiencing rapid declines, and it is our shared responsibility as a government and a territory to promote their recovery.

Range plans are a vital part of how we work together to co-manage our caribou herds and provide guidance to decision makers, developers, and communities to manage activities on the land in a way that supports healthy caribou populations.

Mr. Speaker, today, after years of work, I am pleased to officially release two new range-planning documents, the Bathurst Caribou Range Plan and the Framework for Boreal Caribou Range Planning. These documents provide important tools to protect the habitat of our vulnerable caribou populations and fulfill an important mandate commitment made by this Legislative Assembly.

Barren-ground caribou populations have historically experienced periods of highs and lows, but, of all the barren-ground herds, the Bathurst caribou herd has suffered the most dramatic decline, from a high of 450,000 animals in the mid-1980s to a current low of about 8,200 animals. This is despite extensive efforts to support conservation and promote herd recovery.

The Bathurst caribou range plan is a response to calls for action to help the herd recover and ensure its habitat remains healthy. It includes guidance for managing the overall disturbance on the land and tools to reduce and manage impacts to caribou and caribou habitat. It is also an attempt to balance these recovery efforts with the benefits of industrial development. Human activities and land use need to be managed carefully, Mr. Speaker, particularly when caribou numbers are low and more vulnerable to disturbance. Range planning helps establish certainty around land use, which is critical to achieving both conservation and development goals, and contributes to a strong and prosperous territory.

Twenty-one organizations and co-management partners worked together to develop the Bathurst caribou range plan over five years, Mr. Speaker. This included all levels of government and Indigenous organizations, as well as co-management boards, industry, and environmental groups. The plan is based on knowledge and perspectives grounded in both traditional knowledge and science, and I am very grateful to everyone involved for their hard work and dedication.

The range plan for Bathurst caribou looks to Northerners as caribou guardians and recognizes the shared responsibility for managing development to support the recovery of the herd. Applying this plan effectively as part of land use decisions will require a genuine commitment from governments, organizations, developers, communities, and individuals across multiple jurisdictions.

In the next few days, we will also be releasing a framework for boreal caribou range planning. This document will guide the development of five regional range plans for boreal caribou in the Northwest Territories. These are the caribou that live in the forest east of the Mackenzie Mountains. They are listed as a threatened species under federal and territorial legislation.

The framework was developed with our co-management partners, and includes a "made in the North" approach to managing boreal caribou and their habitat. While the Northwest Territories population of boreal caribou is currently considered stable overall, careful management of habitat disturbance will be important to maintain a healthy and sustainable population for the future. The regional range plans developed under this framework will help ensure there is enough forest across the Northwest Territories to support a healthy and sustainable population of boreal caribou.

The framework is a critical step, but is just the beginning. Work to develop regional range plans can now get under way and will begin in the southern Northwest Territories and Wek'eezhii regions, where there is wildfire and industrial activity, followed by the Sahtu, Gwich'in, and Inuvialuit regions. Each plan will be developed in collaboration with our co-management partners, and is expected to take at least two years to complete.

The Government of the Northwest Territories remains committed to managing the land and natural resources of the Northwest Territories in a way that is sustainable, responsible, and responsive, relying on shared tools like this framework and range plan to make effective decisions within our strong co-management and regulatory system.

I am confident both of these documents provide effective tools and approaches for protecting caribou in the Northwest Territories, and I look forward to seeing them in action as we work with our partners to help implement them successfully. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, apologies, Mr. Chair. I should have spoken to this right away to give a bit of an explanation. The amendment allows the Canada Revenue Agency to administer a separate interim program that will allow a cost of living offset payment to NWT residents and families in October 2019 and April 2020. The differences between the interim and regular payments are that there are only two interim payments and four regular payments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Thanks very much, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I move that clause 4 of Bill 43 be amended by adding the following after proposed clause 3.5:

3.6.(1) In this section,

"first offset year" means the period that begins on July 1, 2019, and ends on June 30, 2020;

"initial offset amount" of a taxpayer means an amount that the taxpayer is deemed to have paid under subsection 3.5(3) during October or April in the first offset year.

(2) For the purpose of subsection 3.5, in the first offset year, the months specified for a taxation year are October and April.

(3) For the purpose of calculating the initial offset amount, the percentage "25 percent" in subsection 3.5(3) is to be read as "50 percent."

(4) A determination by the Minister as to whether an individual is deemed to have paid an initial offset amount in the amount, if any, of the deemed payment is final and not subject to review or appeal.

(5) No portion of an initial offset amount is to be

(a) charged or given as security;

(b) garnished or attached;

(c) subject to execution or seizure; or

(d) retained by the Minister and applied to reduce any debt owing to the Government of the Northwest Territories or the Crown in Right of Canada.

(6) Notwithstanding this section and section 3.5, the Minister shall not make a payment in relation to an offset amount and no individual is entitled to receive a payment in relation to that amount after June 30, 2021, unless the individual's entitlement to the payment arose by reason of an assessment or reassessment made under the act on or before June 30, 2021.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that clause 4 of Bill 43 be amended by adding the following after proposed clause 3.5:

3.6.(1) In this section,

"first offset year" means the period that begins on July 1, 2019, and ends on June 30, 2020;

"initial offset amount" of a taxpayer means an amount that the taxpayer is deemed to have paid under subsection 3.5(3) during October or April in the first offset year.

(2) For the purpose of subsection 3.5, in the first offset year, the months specified for a taxation year are October and April.

(3) For the purpose of calculating the initial offset amount, the percentage "25 percent" in subsection 3.5(3) is to be read as "50 percent."

(4) A determination by the Minister as to whether an individual is deemed to have paid an initial offset amount in the amount, if any, of the deemed payment is final and not subject to review or appeal.

(5) No portion of an initial offset amount is to be

(a) charged or given as security;

(b) garnished or attached;

(c) subject to execution or seizure; or

(d) retained by the Minister and applied to reduce any debt owing to the Government of the Northwest Territories or the Crown in Right of Canada.

(6) Notwithstanding this section and section 3.5, the Minister --

Mr. Chair, I withdraw the motion.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that clause 4 of Bill 43 be amended in proposed paragraph 3.5(6)(b) by striking out (c) and substituting (d). Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Just very quickly, Mr. Chair, the amendment in subclause 3.5(3) is to link the two interim payments that will described in my next motion, option to the annual cost of living offset calculation. The Canada Revenue Agency is unable to administer the cost-of-living offset benefit until July 2020 but has offered to provide interim benefits for the first year of the carbon tax under a separate program. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a motion. I move that clause 4 of Bill 43 be amended in proposed subclause 3.5(3) by striking out "if, in relation" and substituting "subject to section 3.6, if, in relation." Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I totally agree with you. To my right, I have Mr. David Stewart, who is the deputy minister of Finance. To my left, I have Cherie Jarock, who is our legislative counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.