Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is a modest pot of money available to work with communities for risk management plans implementation. I would point out, as well, this is another area where personal responsibility is a big one and we, as well, encourage homeowners to make sure that their underbrush is clear, the trees are limbed, their house has as few flammable exterior products as possible, in addition to reliance on governments to come in and make sure the communities are fire smart.

We’re also doing a number of creative things, working, for example, in Fort Smith. They’re working with...

I, as well, would like to recognize one of the hardworking court workers and that would be Shari Olsen from Fort Smith. I welcome her to the Assembly. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, apparently I said Ernie Daniels, I meant to say Ernie Campbell. Sorry.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to thank the Member for the questions. This type of situation triggers a very comprehensive response. The Member is well aware of some of the other challenges we’ve had with leaks, not only in the Northwest Territories but just south of the border.

I believe that the regulatory process that is in place right now is adequate enough. We know, through history, that Enbridge wants to make sure that things run well, as well. It’s bad for the corporate image, it’s bad for the environment, it’s bad in every sense of the word when we have circumstances that have happened, as the Member has...

We are working with all the appropriate authorities to ensure that those issues, as outlined by the Member, are being addressed. Thank you.

We have one of the best deals on a per capita basis when you compare us to any other jurisdiction, with the possible exception of Nunavut, for how much we get from our relationship either through equalization or Territorial Formal Financing with any other jurisdiction in the country. We have a budget of $1.6 billion for 43,000 people. So we have a budget of $1.6 billion for 43,000 people.

I know we have a huge list of demands that outstrips the resources available. But we get well over $20,000 per person in this territory. So what we’re going to do is manage our finances.

We have one of the...

Thank you. This agreement we have with the federal government has stood us in good stead and will continue to do that. It recognizes the commitment from the federal government to provide certainty until 2018, especially with the health transfer and the social transfer. In fact, we’re one of two jurisdictions that saw an actual benefit and increase on the health side because of this new arrangement.

We’re doing the things that we’ve talked about as a government to control our expenditures, to put money aside for infrastructure to do all these types of good things. We have devolution coming which...

This is an area that we cover under what is called values at risk, and priority area is focusing first on human life, personal property, public safety, and working our way out.

As the Member will recollect from the amount of times we’ve come back for supplementary appropriations, the fire seasons are getting longer and hotter and our costs are going up just to try to manage those key areas. We do, though, recognize that there are times when trappers are affected and we do have a fund to help compensate individuals. I think the maximum payout out of that is $37,000.

All the related offshore issues tied to devolution will be negotiated and there will be a process triggered once negotiation is signed and implemented. Thank you.