Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following six documents: "Grants and Contributions Results Reports 2018-2019"; "Annual Report 2019-2020 of the Northwest Territories Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas"; "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 52-19(2), Grants and Contributions to Commercial Fishers"; "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 75-19(2), Impact of Coronavirus on Northwest Territories Tourism"; "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 112-19(2), Northwest Territories Commercial Fishing Industry"; and "Follow-Up Letter for Oral Question 249-19(2), Small Business Grants." Thank you...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every June, the Government of the Northwest Territories, together with the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines and the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, mark Mining Week in our territory. This year will be no exception. From June 21st to the 27th, we will once again recognize this industry that is a foundation of our economy.

What will be different this year is that, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, Mining Week will take place entirely online. A robust calendar of social media content is being planned...

I am happy to provide the Member and this House with that assurance. Absolutely. It is part of our mandate, and I think it has been evidenced most recently in the rollout of our approach to COVID. I have said numerous times that we will need our resource sector to anchor our recovery. Mining and exploration are the biggest source of private sector jobs and income for our residents and, when they return to full operations, will once again be major buyers of products and services from Northwest Territories companies. We have worked with our mines and resource companies to ensure their safe and...

I am not sure that that work is delayed. Nevertheless, I can tell the Member that it is close to completion, and I am anticipating that we will be able to identify a target coming-into-force date fairly soon, possibly as early as the end of this month. There are two things in particular that have taken some time. The Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations, or OROGO, wanted the opportunity to develop two sets of guidelines and interpretation notes, which will help explain their application and administration of two of the amendments. These have now been drafted. More critically, our...

I don't believe that I am the first ITI Minister to admit that I can't predict the future. The one for-sure thing we can take from this court ruling is that, when it comes to petroleum projects in the Northwest Territories, a very clear distinction was made between benefit plans and agreements that might be signed between project proponents and Indigenous governments. Now, as far as our work on the Mineral Resources Act is concerned, I can tell you that, as we get back to the more regular business of government, these regulations will become a focal point for our government. This work will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I am aware of this case. We are working to update our benefit plan guidelines that do exist under our oil and gas legislation. When it comes into force, the MRA will give us the ability, in law, to establish measures that will generate benefits for all Northerners.

Mr. Speaker, I must remind the Member that Indigenous governments and all Northerners are already benefitting from resource development. Every producing mine has an associated socioeconomic agreement in addition to independent IVAs that are negotiated with Indigenous governments. Since 1996, under our...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have that. I could probably flip through a thousand pieces of paper right now to find that. I know we do consult, and we talk with them. There is some restructuring going on there, as well, so I will commit to actually both Members who are very interested in fishing. I will come back with a briefing on fishing for both of the Members and any other Members who are interested. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The plant plays into the larger fish strategy revitalization for Great Slave. We have been working in conjunction with a lot of the fishers, the Tu Cho Fishers Cooperative, other external parties. We are working with Memorial University on reducing the plant size so that we can meet the $9 million, which I'm sure you're all familiar with. The goal here is to build a fish plant in Hay River. That was what came out of the strategy that was tabled in the House in March of 2017, and that was part of the strategy. I hear from numerous fishers who do want the fish plant...

I commit to the Member to doing an Inuvik or Beaufort Delta specific release with information regarding the differences with the online system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That sort of decision would actually have to come to the financial management board as, surprisingly, we do collect a significant amount of fees from the parks. I do want to state that it's my understanding that the fees are not super high, perhaps about $15 for a tent platform. I believe the highest price is $32 for Fred Hennie at a powered site, but I can commit to getting the exact numbers on those. What we have done is we are doing a "buy five nights, get your sixth night free coupon." When you register on the online system -- which I'm assuming I'm going to have to adapt to Inuvik...