Michael Miltenberger

The Member makes a good suggestion. In fact, as we speak, we are pulling together an offer for a joint briefing between myself, as the Minister responsible for the JRP, and Minister McLeod for the National Energy Board process to do a full and thorough briefing to committee. We’ll bring in all the folks we need, all our skilled people, lawyers and such and have the discussion about this process, which has a multitude of moving parts and lots of considerations that have to be accommodated. Thank you.

In fact, there is an initial document that does exist. We have money in the budget identified to do further work to flesh it out in more detail and do some of the actual work. One of the areas I think we’re looking at working on in this area is the whole area of permafrost. There is work underway. There is a document already on the table that we took to a meeting I went to with the Premier at the Western Premiers’ Meetings. It’s going to be fleshed out and enhanced as we go on and do a lot of the work that we’ve laid out here in our business plan.

Mr. Chairman, that money will be reflected in the revised estimates once the agreements are signed. At this point, they haven’t been signed but the funding will be reflected. There is money there. We are just with the federal government. We are just concluding that process.

The herd definition is done through where the animals, the females go to calve. There has been DNA work on the herds and there are differences, apparently. But they aggregate to calve in the same areas and there are calving grounds established, usually up along the Arctic Coast. In the collared animals that they do have, they show very great fidelity to going back to the same areas. As we have our work and methodology reviewed by the Alberta Research Council, the science in the circumpolar world that deals with caribou has some fairly standard methodology when it comes to defining herds that...

Mr. Speaker, we’re in the process of pulling in a final response. A lot of what is in this letter, I’m assuming once again… I look at my A.(2) and I don’t know if we’re actually looking at the same document, which is the trouble, I suppose, with documents that aren’t before this House. Thank you.

The world has evolved significantly in its awareness of climate change and greenhouse gases and the need to be as proactive as possible. The process that we are envisioning is going to be a broad one that’s going to involve, of course, government, but community governments, individuals, industry. The world and the country are moving towards cap and trade systems. Many jurisdictions have already put caps and cap and trade systems in place, put a price on carbon. That discussion is now going to take place in the Northwest Territories to see where we can get agreement to end up, recognizing once...

Mr. Chairman, two things to be more specific, within the Northwest Territories there is an extensive amount of water monitoring done but it is fragmented across very many departments and different levels of government. One of the plans is within the Territory to come up with a comprehensive water monitoring strategy that will identify all the resources, how do we better link them and identify the gaps of what needs to be better monitored. The other critical piece is going to be the negotiations on the bilateral agreement with Alberta and B.C. where we are going to be coming to the table with...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we’ve indicated right from the start, there’s a whole number of factors that have affected the Bathurst herd. It exists in the most heavily populated part of the Territory. There are extensive road networks now where there never used to be. There are hunting pressures. There is resource development. There are climate change issues. These have all combined to affect things like the general health of the animals, the calf survival rate, the birthrate of calves and how many do survive. There are predation impacts as well. When you combine them all together and when...

I haven’t yet used in this session in due course and the fullness of time, however, I will say that we are in discussions with Finance Canada. Finance Canada has indicated to us that they have this on their agenda, but they are now very preoccupied pulling their own budget together. So we are in ongoing discussions with Finance Canada about the resolution to this particular issue. As soon as we have anything to report, we will be coming back to committee. Thank you.

I would suggest that the $60 million this Legislature and the business plans that have been approved and the direction that has been taken by the department is a clear reflection of the political decision by this Legislature. Public Works and Services has a very ambitious plan to continue the retrofits. We are looking at concluding all, as the Minister of MACA indicated, the community energy plans. We’re committed to working with communities to make the transition. As well, we have significant funds in the budget to encourage homeowners to convert to more energy efficient appliances or wood...