Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that the Government of the Northwest Territories take immediate action to alter the Beverage Container Program by eliminating the collection of the non-refundable handling fee for milk containers and provide a corresponding and suitable level of financial assistance to the Environment Fund, if required, to assist in covering program expenses and improvements to waste reduction and recovery programs. Thank you...

I appreciate that. The Minister is obviously on top of this and working on it. Sort of related is: would the Minister consider starting our own fish marketing corporation or some formalized program to assist in the export of fish as well as the local sale of fish from Great Slave Lake and other sources? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My first question to the Minister of ITI is related to my Member’s statement earlier today. Mr. Abbott reports that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has told him he cannot get a licence to export fish out of the NWT until he can prove that the NWT market is saturated and there is excess for export. Obviously, this is an overly onerous request for a single provider that would require considerable time and expense. It’s difficult to understand how the market saturation could be realistically demonstrated. Here’s an instance where the Industry, Tourism and Investment department...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, I suspect they would be interested into entering quite a different relationship than the one that they are opting out of.

My final question is: what support is available to the unique and commendable and environmentally responsible business development that’s exemplified by Mr. Abbott so that small fisheries operations can get the support they need to realize their full potential? Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that commitment to assist Mr. Abbott in demonstrating that the local market has been saturated so he can export fish.

My second question is about the implications of opting out of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. What are the liabilities and what’s the process in getting this done? What are the implications we should know about? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m happy to see all the green in the House today. Everybody knows I’m a green guy on the inside too. Go, Brendan, go!

A Weledeh business that has provided local food security through responsible harvesting of sustainable resources and years of local employment is passing into environmentally responsible hands. The story about new owners taking over the business of Archie Buckley selling our top quality Great Slave Lake whitefish and other fish to the community and, they hope, the world is spreading.

I met with Brian Abbott, one of the new owners, in the fall when he...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a motion with respect to the Exemptions Act.

I move that clause 2 of Bill 10 be amended by striking out “hunting or fishing for food” in proposed paragraph 2(1)(e) and substituting “hunting, trapping or fishing for food.”

I’m glad there is a lot of work being done and I’m glad to hear that assurance. I’m just trying to pull out some of that work here, Mr. Speaker. I know the Minister realizes, from his comments, that it’s an enormous task, but I’m trying to get at how far along are we at all. What is the quantity and the volumes of things we are talking about? How many furnaces do we need to change over and where are those targets to be established? So what work is actually underway to get down to the brass tacks on what the specifics are on this challenge and its opportunities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my statement earlier today with the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. I want to start by saying I was happy to see the Biomass Strategy, but I did note that it was pretty high level. Many actions noted in it were actually started years ago, but of particular concern is there were no targets or plan or basis for evaluation other than sort of a feel-good general review after 18 months from now.

As we’ve seen in Europe, the marketplace became the driving force in the shift to biomass energy after government actually placed some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was pleased to see the Biomass Strategy tabled yesterday by the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Switching our energy supply over to renewable energy is an important part to the answer to climate change and holds promise for affordable power both with local employment and investment benefits. Biomass is a proven solution and a Biomass Strategy is an essential part of our overall climate change and energy vision.

All Members and Ministers know my position on the need for aggressive action to fight climate change. Government is beginning to respond. A...