Bob Bromley

Thank you for that information. Obviously this has been referred to as constitutional development behind closed doors and clearly it is. So what I’m trying to get at is how the public and Regular Members can participate in this governance council and perhaps you’ll have a toolbar in your tool kit I could borrow, Mr. Chair.

We do know, indeed, that Aboriginal governments and Aboriginal people have legal means with respect to consultation and this government has chosen to not quite ignore, but almost ignore those that don’t have Aboriginal and treaty rights in terms of meaningful consultation...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to pick up where I left off yesterday on some questions about the Intergovernmental Council on Land and Resource Management. I have appreciated the questions so far.

We talked about the role of this new structure. I wonder how Regular Members will have input into the terms of reference for this structure.

I’m not asking for information here or details or any prior commitments. I’m asking the Premier to state unequivocally here in the House to our public and to this Assembly that we will not assume substantial new liabilities in this process without assuring that we have the financial securities to cover those liabilities. Thank you.

Thanks to the Premier for that. As soon as possible will be great.

I will take the high road here. Will the Premier also be adding transparency – I’m not sure he and I have the same definition here – on what our liabilities are in relation to the securities that we hold to cover those as soon as he can on this list of operating sites that we are taking over as per Appendix 7, Part E? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7 on the Order Paper.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you. I hope the Premier becomes more familiar with our agreement soon because in less than six weeks here we will be accepting operating mines that have been developed under modern environmental legislation and it’s those that I’m talking about. In fact, the federal government has only managed to hold less than 50 percent of the financial securities, so these are major liabilities that can erode any of the good work that this Premier is doing.

So, again, the list of potential liabilities include the oil pipeline from Norman Wells to the NWT border. What is the amount of security deposit...

Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Premier on aspects of our Devolution Agreement from my statement earlier today. I would like to note Schedule 7, Part E of the Devolution Agreement includes a list of potentially contaminated sites that will be transferred to the GNWT as of April 1st is my understanding.

Can the Premier confirm that we, the GNWT, will be receiving financial securities to cover all the liabilities accessed by our land and water boards when this transfer takes place on April 1st or what the schedule is? Mahsi.

That’s all I have, Mr. Chair. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With devolution implementation in less than six weeks, GNWT assumes responsibility for mines, oil and gas installations set up under “modern environmental review processes.” Already an enormous responsibility, if we are unprepared, this could become an enormous liability.

Under today’s system, each project, mine or whatever is required to post financial securities as part of the review process. This is meant to provide money that protects the public and the environment from closure and clean-up costs even if the operator goes bankrupt. Until April 1st, this financial...