Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Dissenting opinion of Katrina Nokleby, MLA for Great Slave.

The GNWT has committed to undertaking a review of its approach to the NWT’s mining fiscal regime. As a first step, the GNWT commissioned a study by international firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to provide an analysis of tax and royalty benchmark mining in the Northwest Territories. Some Members of the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment (SCEDE) had concerns regarding the scope of work of this research and proceeded to hire an independent economic consultant to provide an opinion on the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, The NWT has always been a resourcebased economy. Even before the onset of colonial settlement, the Yellowknives Dene made tools from copper mined on the banks of the very lake that my district is named for. Later today, we will hear SCEDE's report, and my opinion, on the GNWT's approach to the Mining Regime Fiscal Review. In my dissenting opinion, I lay out what I see as the reasons why this has not been a good use of committee resources. One area upon which I touch is exploration.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to expand upon this point further as I feel that at...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I just want to say that I'm very supportive of this bill. The first time I ever thought about what the meaning of the word "aboriginal" could mean was at a Pathfinder meeting, which is a division of Girl Guides, when one of the Girl Guides or the Pathfinders turned to me and asked why the holiday was called Aboriginal Day when AB means not and therefore it meant not aboriginal. So in her mind, already at that age, she knew that the that the wording was wrong and she couldn't understand it. So I'm happy to sit here today and see during my term that this...

Thank you for that, Madam Chair. I guess then I just wonder does insure or the legalities of insuring as a third party around an asset that we don't own, does that not then raise other issues that we should be concerned about, or does that cost more; what are the implications of that? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This will just be probably a little bit of a comment. I'm glad to hear, that the Indigenous organizations are being and consulted and at the Minister's forefront. I guess I just wanted to point that out or bring up that line of discussion because this is the southern portion of the diamond the diamond mines ice road and therefore once or the sooner we can get this portion of the road constructed, the potential for the diamond mines to have more longevity and more money to put towards exploration. So just a comment on why I also strongly still support construction of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I quickly Googled, because I remembered there was an announcement recently and there was a loan agreement given to the Kitikmeot Inuit Association for $7.25 million to work towards the Grays Bay port. So just some information there.

The Minister or sorry, the Member for Yellowknife North did take my question, was was it just on the Lockhart portion versus the overall. So not to repeat and to move on as per our conversation, Madam Chair.

My question is even if the business plan for this part of the road doesn't go forward or doesn't indicate that this is sound...

Thank you, Madam Chair. And Madam Chair, I'm not sure if the Minister can answer that, but this line of questioning has made me ask what will happen to the portables when the school is built, and is there a commitment to have them returned to the community? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

Committee held a public engagement period from July 20 to August 20, 2021, and a virtual public hearing on September 9, 2021.

Committee received written submissions and public presentations from Aurora College, the City of Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories Metis Nation, and the Tlicho government.

The themes brought forward reflect the composition and appointment of the Board of Governors and the two councils, regional representation, implementation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), academic independence, and...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I too wanted to thank the committee for this work. My heart says to support the removal of limiters, but then when the fiscal realities come in and you know, the counterpoints are made, it's hard to make the decision one way or the other. So I do really appreciate the committee focusing on the state of the homes.

As I've lived longer and longer in the North and become more aware as an engineer and in the course work I've taken, I realize how poorly our homes are equipped in the North and our buildings are equipped in the North to deal with our extreme climate. So I did...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm probably going to steal the Member for Hay River South's question by asking whether or not the Assembly has considered just widening the roadway to include a sidewalk versus creating a separate path. Thank you, Madam Chair.