Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I have had some constituents contacting me about ongoing negotiations with our main union, Union of Northern Workers, and I am concerned about the pace of negotiations. It has been some time since we have actually had a briefing on the negotiations, and I am wondering if the Minister could commit to providing a briefing to probably priorities and planning on what is happening with the negotiations? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am just trying to find the page again here. It is page 114. The line item is negotiations. There is going to be a reduction between 2017-18 and 2016-17. Can someone from the department explain why we are reducing the funding for negotiations in light of the commitment and the mandate to try to finish all of these negotiations by the end of the 18th Assembly? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. I fully recognize that the mining industry has made contributions beyond the resource revenues that we get to keep, but I think it is time that we did look at this issue, especially now that we have jurisdiction and control over it. It does need to be a comprehensive review. It is complex because you have to consider either taxes or forms of revenue, but we’re beyond that now. We’re three years into devolution. We haven’t really looked at that, so I appreciate the commitment from the Minister to ensure that his Cabinet colleagues start the move on this. I...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I can see the reduction as we go down to page 65. There are actually two people being cut, or two positions, I should say, being cut from this function within ENR. Can someone explain what these two positions are and why it’s necessary to cut them? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Okay. I am happy to get that information. I'm just a little bit surprised that nobody at the table seems to know this sort of information because it's a big area of work within the department, but I'm happy to get it as quickly as they can put it together. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I will try to keep my comments on some of the higher levels and some of the issues that maybe some of my colleagues have not covered so far.

Earlier today in the House, there was a lot of discussion around climate change and carbon pricing. This department plays a really crucial role in moving forward on those issues, and I believe they actually have the expertise inhouse to do some work on this. I want to make sure that that stays within the department, but I just don't sense that there is any urgency on these issues with our government. I expect that ENR is going to play a...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister tell me when we might be able to expect to get that information? I am just very conscious of the amount of time we have left to sort out the departmental budgets and so on. When can I expect to get this information from the department? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

I thank the Minister for that response and look forward to seeing some of the correspondence that he might have with the Government of Nunavut. Can the Minister explain why our government continues to pursue funding for an all-weather road into the Slave Geological Province before the Bathurst Caribou Range Plan is completed and implemented? It's sort of like putting the cart before the horse.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the response from the Minister, but I just do not think that these are wise reductions at a time when the department has a lot to deliver on in terms of its mandate, the mandate commitments that have been made, the announcements that the Minister has made. I just think that legislation and policy work, programs and services are going to continue to be delayed and not to the standard that our public deserves, so I continue to disagree with these cuts. I don't think I have anything further to say other than these are very serious concerns for me. I think they are...

Merci, Monsieur le President. It seems to be environment and climate change day in the House, and I love it.

---Laughter

My question is for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. The recently released Bathurst Range Plan discussion paper recommends winter-only access in calving and post-calving and summer ranges of the Bathurst caribou herd. Does the Minister accept this recommended next step and that there are trade-offs to be made between caribou protection and mineral development? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.