Brendan Bell

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not to my knowledge. My understanding is that initially the federal government had hoped to roll at least $3 million per territory out for this year prior to March 31st. It’s obviously quickly approaching March 31st. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think now in the latest correspondence I have from Minister Scott he’s referring more to the $30 million and how that will flow going forward. I think that’s an encouraging sign. I don’t think this needed to be a sort of rush job at year-end to push a bunch of money out the door. I’d rather see a well thought out...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fund the Member is referring to, we’ve had discussion with DIAND about the money and how it will flow. We’re encouraging DIAND to quickly determine what criteria will be used to evaluate proposals that come forward. We have had a lot of people in the territory interested in discussion how they might access some of this money. At this point we’re referring people to DIAND. They are controlling the money and determining how the program will be rolled out. We don’t have that detail yet. We’re hoping to get it soon and it’s certainly something on my list to speak to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s hard for me to disagree that we shouldn’t have been able to move on this more quickly. We have seen this development coming for some time. All I can say is that we are responding now. We are moving very quickly to ensure the office in Hay River is up and running by the end of March. We’ve had a number of stages here in terms of trying to staff. We went northern first. We didn’t get the kind of response we thought we might get, but we are looking for some very specific technical positions. We have broadened the search to include southern Canada. I understand we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member mentioned the Joint Cabinet/AOC Pipeline Planning Committee. Underneath that, obviously, is the Deputy Ministers’ Planning Committee and that committee will oversee the work of the MVPO, which will coordinate the work of the various departments. I agree with the Member, we are probably talking over 20 positions. I don’t have that information handy. I think one of the difficulties is that there may not be dedicated positions in all the departments, but there are portions of positions that are used for this aspect of Mackenzie Valley development, probably...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t have any detailed discussions of a model of that nature. That’s not to say that they weren’t going on in our department or other departments as this planning was underway. Recommendations came to me for the creation of this Mackenzie Valley pipeline office. Admittedly, I think we have said before, this really comprises our first phase response in terms of resource oil and gas development. This isn’t it. We do need to work to ensure that we are adequately resourced up and down the valley. I guess the real flashpoint of where we need to quickly get some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, let me say that Mr. Ramsay asked a very similar question about a week ago in budget deliberations. Certainly I owe Members on that side of the House a full accounting of the supplementary appropriation and where it was proposed to be spent. I will get that detailed accounting to Members as quickly as I can.

Generally, I would say we have about a $2 million a year budget proposed. I know that in 2004-05, the year in question when the supplementary appropriations were approved, we were looking at $925,000 in contributions. That’s roughly half the budget. I think...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The grubstake program that’s available at the beginning of the season for trappers who harvested a certain number of pelts the previous year -- I can’t remember exactly what the number is, but I think it’s around 20 -- those who have met that threshold are eligible for the grubstake amount of money and I think it's in the neighbourhood of $5,000 to help them get their equipment up and ready for the season. So if they want to do repairs to their snow machine or purchase additional traps, that’s what that money can be used for. We have had a program in past years in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These programs that we set up some couple of years back, I believe two years now running, continue on. What we are seeing is an increased uptake and an increase in the level of trapping. I think that much of it has to do with the prices that these furs are fetching at auction. The market has been particularly good. The Asia Pacific market is opening up for our furs, along with the traditional interest we have seen from the European trading area. So this is all good news for our trappers. I think in addition, anecdotally, we have noticed that people who are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are very aware and believe that with development come some negative impacts and implications. I think that is why we were so enthusiastic in our support for the Protected Areas Strategy and that action plan. Together with the federal government and with industry, we recognize there is a need to protect areas that have been identified by communities as culturally or environmentally sensitive. That is one of the good approaches I think we are taking as a government and as a territory, to make sure that where there are very important areas to the people, communities...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. RWED has agreed to organize this consultative process, which should, we think, with current timelines, culminate in a forum to be held in May of this year. At that point, we will have solicited public input and feedback. The planning committee has asked for that feedback to happen by the end of April. So we think in May we can provide that, have that forum in May of 2005 and then have a discussion around what we do next. If the report is not already posted on the web site, it will be very shortly so that everyone can have easy access even if they are from outside the...