Michael Miltenberger

In fact, we are soon going to be processing and recycling our 100 millionth container in the very near future. The issue is to encourage people to bring back the containers. I agree with the Member that there is possibly an opportunity to look at a stronger message about not drinking bottled water at all in conjunction with the communities’ education and health to promote the benefits of drinking local water. I will pursue that with my colleagues. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of all the things on the to-do list, the answer would be, regrettably at this point, no. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure today to recognize some of the many people that helped work on the Water Strategy from the steering committee made up of representatives of the aboriginal governments. We have Richard Binder from Inuvialuit Regional Corporation; Joe Acorn, Deh Cho First Nations; Tim Heron, NWT Metis Nation; Joline Huskey and Eddie Erasmus, Tlicho Government; Mardy Semmler of the Gwich’in Tribal Council. From INAC, our close partners, we have Tricia Merrithew-Mercredi, regional director general; Sevn Bohnet, Tricia Melander-Forde, Michele Culhane and Bob Reid...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Boot Lake, that Bill 6, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2010-2011, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Boot Lake, that Bill 6, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2010-2011, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document titled Northern Voices, Northern Waters, Draft NWT Water Stewardship Strategy, November 2009. Thank you.

While we are not directly involved, there is a significant project with Industry Canada in Vulcan in terms of delivery of broadband high speed services to the communities. It is a very important project. There is phase one that is in the works to be completed and there are significant dollars for phase two. We are working very closely with all the partners in that arrangement to make sure that, hopefully, will get done. That will give the service that the Member is talking about.

We already invested heavily in the digital communication network. Our schools, our health centres all have that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There has been a significant amount of money that was put into the digital communications network to provide the digital backbone to have computer and Internet hook-ups. We have done some work on cell phone service in terms of assessing the market and some of the challenges. At this point, cell phone services seem to be within the purview of the private sector. There are companies out there like NorthwesTel. Of course they want money to go into the small communities, but at this point we have been treating it as a private sector business opportunity. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. “What if” questions are always difficult to answer. As I have indicated to the Member in this House and in writing September 10th, we have initiated and embarked upon a process with the aboriginal governments, the management boards, our own departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories and stakeholders, to try to resolve that issue; two competing rights of first refusal. In this case, the Gwich’in were given the right of first refusal first. It can only be offered once and then it’s no longer first refusal. So that’s the question we have to try to answer...

The process we’ve embarked on when this issue came to light is to consult with, of course, other departments, the aboriginal governments, the stakeholders, the management boards, to come up, over the coming months, with, hopefully, some resolution, advice and recommendations of how to remedy this issue in its entirety. Thank you.