David Krutko

Agreed. Does committee agree that we have concluded the Legislative Assembly estimates?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table two letters, one letter addressed to the Minister of Environment, Mr. Michael Miltenberger and Minister of Environment, Mr. Jim Prentice. It’s from the chief for Inuvik, Mr. Herbert Blake. The other letter is sent to Richard Nerysoo from the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs with regard to arsenic contamination.

Agreed. So we can go through…We’ll defer page 1-2 and move to page 1-4, Legislative Assembly, activity summary, Office of the Clerk, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $1.4 million.

As we all know, the standards that are set by the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment, they set the national standard for arsenic at 12 mg/kg. From the results that we are getting, it’s well past that in regards to Inuvik. So by exceeding these national standard numbers, what are the public health concerns relating to the possibility of cancer and other effects that we hear about arsenic? What is the health risk to the people in Inuvik?

Does committee agree we’ve concluded Human Resources?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources in regards to a letter he received from the chief of the Inuvik Band Council, Mr. Herb Blake. It’s in regards to arsenic levels in Inuvik, and also it was sent to the Minister of Environment, Jim Prentice. Several properties that are owned in Inuvik by the Gwich’in Tribal Council and Gwich’in Development Corporation were tested for contamination, and high levels of arsenic were located on those pieces of property. Because of that, there is a question of liability and what you can...

With that, I would like to thank the Minister and thank the witness.

With that, we can move to the next department which is Human Resources. Page 2-2, we can defer that page and move to page 2-4, Human Resources, activity summary, human resource strategy and policy, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $715,000.

Mr. Speaker, someone that drives along the Mackenzie River in the Mackenzie Delta between Aklavik and Fort McPherson can visually see how cabins are falling into the river. The riverbanks are eroding at such a fast rate that the communities are in the same situation.

I don’t think the Minister gets it. This is a serious problem. We have to do something to ensure that we shore up the infrastructure of communities such as Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk. We’ve heard from communities such as Sachs Harbour where they’re seeing the banks on Banks Island. This is a real problem and I don’t think we can...

Now can we turn to page 3-2 with regard to the department summary. Finance, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $630,000. Agreed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Environment in regards to my statement and realizing that the implications we’re seeing with climate change, and especially that records have clearly stated that the Mackenzie Delta is the most impacted with global warming, with high rising temperatures, but, more importantly, the effects we’re seeing in regards to melting permafrost and the erosion on the riverbanks on the Mackenzie Delta, and also the effects we’re seeing on communities that I mentioned, Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik.

Mr. Speaker, we, as government, have to ensure...