Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. Does the Minister have a timeframe in mind for getting that information to us as Regular MLAs but also to the public? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I move that this committee defer further consideration of the estimates for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs at this time. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Merci, Madame la Presidente. I do have some comments to make on the capital estimates, but I have one question for the Minister to start with.

Earlier in this sitting, there was some information tabled in the House about a special warrant, and that also included some information about what GNWT expects to be, perhaps most of, what's required for flood relief, and the total was, I think, $174 million. So I know that this was unanticipated. We may be able to recover some of those costs, probably not all of them.

I'd like to know from the Minister what impact the Hay River flood relief and then...

Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. Okay, I'll just make a suggestion to the Minister, that if he needs some extra money to kind of get this work done quickly so that all the asset plans are done, you know, within a reasonable period of time, I'd be happy to support that as a supplemental appropriation, because we need that information to calculate and track what the municipal funding gap is. If communities and MACA don't know what their assets are, how do you know what the gap is? So is that something the department is prepared to look at, is what it would take to get this work done a little more...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I wish to table the following document: It's a Resolution Number 22/23013, 52nd Dene National Assembly, Subject: Keepers of the Water Resolution. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Yeah, okay, thanks. Yeah, I appreciate the commitment there from the Minister to share it with us, and then work with NWTAC. And I don't see any reason why this couldn't or shouldn't be made public. But I'm sort of thinking of some kind of a public dashboard that, you know, could get updated at least once a year. But, okay.

Lastly, I know my colleague asked about the asset plans. How many asset plans have actually been finished for community governments? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I'm happy to send her some pictures of the junk when we're finished here. But in my view, the Cantung and the Mactung saga is another example of postdevolution mismanagement of our resources. When I asked the Minister for lessons learned last time, she said that lessons learned would be considered at the time of sale. So I'm going to try the question again. Can the Minister explain what lessons have been learned about financial security and public liabilities from the Cantung and Mactung saga? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. It's a very interesting position. It's okay to plan and build roads into the range of the Bathurst caribou herd while the herd is in a precarious state but it's not okay to pause this work while we look at the future of the entire region. You know, I'm worried, Mr. Speaker, that this government is going to go ahead and file this project for regulatory approvals, land use permit, water licence, no matter what. We're heading straight for another Mackenzie Valley Highway Environmental Assessment that is now over nine years long...

Merci, Madme la Presidente. I move that Committee Motion 28319(2) be amended to read as follows: That this Assembly recommends that the Yellowknife Members of the Legislative Assembly be permitted to apply to the Board of Management to establish an office in Yellowknife outside the Legislative Assembly building as is the case with all nonYellowknife Members. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. But surely to goodness we have some sort of sense of whether this is a good thing or not before we have to go and consult with everybody. But I know that the time decision's up to the Minister of Northern Affairs. You know, geographic scope and name for this initiative are probably still up for grabs but hopefully we can avoid the colonial and racist term "slave."

Can the Minister tell us whether GNWT's taken a position on the name and geographic scope of a regional study? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.