Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I see no evidence of the active involvement that the Minister speaks of, or to being a voice for the people of the Northwest Territories. That is the very point that the Members are raising today in this House. The co-proponent’s closing comments letter contains no commitment to the preparation of a fully-funded perpetual care plan. Even though site liability supposedly remains with the federal government after devolution, site management will continue forever or until technology is found to eliminate the arsenic. Will the GNWT include the requirement for a fully...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said in my statement, my questions are today for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. As I said in my statement today, I’m amazed at how few of the concerns, so clearly expressed at the hearings, have been reflected in the proponent’s closing letter to the environment board. The commentary persists in the delusion that this is a remediation rather than a stabilization. Its silence on major concerns almost amounts to contempt towards the input of organizations and individuals. This government signed the letter, so I ask, given the passion and details...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The environmental assessment hearings for the Giant Mine Project were held in September. The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Review Board heard testimony on the plan to stabilize the vast stores of arsenic and conduct limited surface remediation. On the first night of public presentations alone, 50 people sat through a 45-minute power outage to share their concerns. Seventeen people spoke, most staying well past 11:00 p.m. People care deeply about the Giant Mine cleanup.

Based on my observations, people spoke of the lack of a funded perpetual care plan, lack of a legally...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have raised my hand a couple of times for the tabling of documents, so I request that we return to item 14, tabling of documents.

---Unanimous consent granted

In most of our communities there is no private market for housing. This is a reality. We can say that if a household makes over a certain amount of money, they should go to the private market to build, but we know that’s not happening. In large part, that’s due to the basic lack of local capacity to construct housing. Again, reality.

Can the Minister say how this lack of local private capacity issue is considered in the equation of setting eligibility levels and whether this is under review?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation. I was asking the Minister questions last week regarding the large number of home ownership units remaining vacant because people don’t fit program criteria. At my constituency meeting in Detah, I was told one applicant was turned down because their income exceeded the $77,000 income ceiling for program eligibility. That seems to lack realism. Suppose a household made $80,000, would they be any more able to buy a home in the private market in Detah? Some flexibility obviously is needed here.

The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister knows full well that environmental remediation is a topic of the devolution negotiations. Out of the demolition of the roaster, possibly the most lethally toxic building in all of Canada, the adjoining stack contains 14 tonnes of arsenic trioxide that’s permeated with arsenic asbestos and other hazards. No news release, no media briefing, no explanatory advertising, no community information meetings, no attempts to inform the public and allay concerns for human health and environmental safety in this announcement. They just don’t learn.

When will this...

The Minister, obviously, isn’t addressing the questions here. There has certainly been debate for many, many years. The public has had a hard time and eventually got these hearings and made their views known. Now, as a government, we should be recognizing those. This statement doesn’t.

Again, I’ve made the point in past statements that it would, almost certainly, if it was a new mine, be governed by a legally binding environmental management agreement such as we see for the diamond mines, transboundary water agreements, and so on. The Giant Mine Project is far from new. It’s a toxic legacy of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for that commitment from the Minister. Another issue here, and this has dragged out this case over four or five years now, has been the backlog of cases waiting assessment by the only physician contracted by the WSCC to do the assessments. Frequently, there hasn’t been one. I’ve been assured in the past that more staff are being contracted to eliminate that backlog and keep it from accumulating.

Can the Minister tell me if the backlog in physician assessment of new claims has been cleared, and if not, what steps are being taken to deal promptly with our injured...

Thanks for that explanation. I imagine those would be fairly old. I wonder how frequently they’re replaced and I suspect there are a lot more efficient generators out there now. Do we have any information handy on the efficiency of the new generators compared to the old? Thank you.