Michael Miltenberger

I’ve been meeting with the CFIB quite regularly and the general response is just that, a general response or chastisement that we’ve got to do more. We’ve written to the territorial chamber as well. We’re looking for specifics from people outside of government looking in to tell us what are the specific things that we need. We’ve tried to improve how we dispense licences, fees and applications. We’re looking at that list that I already read out to the Member, and we’re continuing to work through eFolks and government on ways we can be more efficient as a government, and that includes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve done a significant amount of work to work with small business. We have all of the services provided through the BDIC where we have a capital there, especially available in communities where banking services aren’t necessarily available. We’ve spent a significant amount of money putting in service officers, the one stop shopping, so we’re available to all folks in the communities.

We have, in addition to the regional support and community support provided by ITI and their business arm and the work provided by the BDIC, we have our e-business strategy. We’ve put a...

Thank you. We agree that there is a lot of work and we acknowledge and recognize there’s a lot of interest in terms of what’s happening in the Peel on our side of the border, but also what’s happening on the western side in the Yukon. So we’ve put in that request. I indicated, in part of my previous answer, that the response from the Yukon government is yes, they know, and they do want to meet, but they would like to have some preliminary discussions about how do we modernize and update the transboundary agreement. So we’re working with them on that. But I will make sure that we keep the...

That is the challenge before us, as the Member articulates. But clearly, at this point our focus is on getting our thinking clear on the guidance we need to provide as a government when it comes to best practices of unconventional hydraulic fracturing. Then we have to work, as well, just to see what’s going to happen at the exploration stage. If things prove out and we start moving into the fact being a producing field, then clearly the work and those questions the Member has posed will be part of the grist for the millet of environmental assessments, the timing of intensity, pace, all those...

We have a major economic initiative, alternative energy-based initiative, which is the expansion of the transmission lines between Snare and the Taltson between 500 million to 700 million dollars. I consider that a very, very substantial investment. We are working throughout the North on expanding biomass, wind, solar. We are investing millions in that as well. We are spending millions upgrading our own facilities, converting to biomass. We’ve changed our guidelines for construction. Wherever you look, we are trying to lower our consumption and improve our energy efficiencies, work on...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For my final answer, we have an air monitoring station in Norman Wells. As things develop and expand, of course, we are going to take a look at the capacity of the station and ensure that it has the capacity to measure all the necessary criteria on qualities of the air so that we can ensure and deal with all of the issues tied to the development. Thank you.

As it pertains to the conversion to biomass, people have made their own determination in many cases, businesses have made their own determination. There is a migration to that alternate heating source. There is, we understand development of a private industry there in terms of supplying pellets. In terms of access to these particular assistance programs for alternative energy changes, those are there. I will follow up with the staff, with the deputy, to make sure the folks in the region are aware of the Member’s concerns. All of that is happening as we speak and we will work with the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are working through the Environmental Studies Research Fund, which is funded in part by industry, to look at baseline information for wildlife as well as baseline information as we do groundwater mapping. There is, in fact, a workshop going to be held in Norman Wells in November, and we’ve applied for money and we see this as an ongoing process that’s going to take some time. As well, industry has indicated a great interest in sharing all the information that they have acquired over the year as part of their various environmental assessment review of their projects.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents, entitled Public Accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories, Interim Report for the Year Ended March 31, 2013; Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2013-2014; and Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2013-2014. Thank you.

There’s going to be a number of things that are going to happen after April 1st and the MVRMA will continue having a role to play. We will be defining our role as it pertains to being the regulator.

In terms of development, we will work with the land and water boards that are there, we will work with industry and all the other processes that are there to look at cumulative impacts. We are going to focus initially as well – and we’ve already indicated this publicly and to committee – that we are at work through the Environmental Research Fund that is partially funded by industry to look at the...