Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As part of the review process from last fire season, as we go into the communities and into the regions, that discussion is taking place. We don’t have a big pot of money set aside. We would work with communities. We would work with individuals. We would look at putting the fire crews to work, for example, if they’re not otherwise occupied in communities, to help doing some of that work. Once again, we are encouraging individuals to fire smart all their own properties and whatever resources that communities may have, as well, to add to that. We will work with...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regards to the timber, I just wanted to make the observation, similar to wildlife or anything else that we do, is you can’t manage what you can’t count. So it’s a challenge in all areas. It’s a challenge, for example, with hunting and reporting. We’re working out ways we can get those numbers because it’s absolutely critical, as we see, when you look at managing any kind of resource like that. So, that’s the fundamental goal, not to infringe but on a conservation basis to be able to manage. You can’t manage what you can’t count. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, yes, we’ll look at talking to our colleagues from Lands and such. We can probably get a number of folks that live outside community boundaries. Thank you.

I just noted I didn’t respond to one specific question with regard to waste management and old vehicles. The answer is still the same. It’s on our list and we are going to work our way down there. We have been focusing on getting a territory-wide electronic waste recycling program on the go as our next big initiative. So, once again, it’s a question of time and capacity. There are old vehicles. Mr. Hawkins mentioned tires. We’ve had, as well, the issue of thousands of 45-gallon drums that are littered across the landscape. We know there are a lot of things we need to get to and we do have that...

Yes, we want to identify if there are gaps, be it in policy or procedures or standard operating procedures as well as any broader structural issues, equipment issues. This is a very comprehensive review, so we will be seeking to address those in anticipation of being ready for the upcoming season. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The fire suppression budget for this year, the base budget remains as it’s laid out in the main estimates. We are looking at next year probably a five-year average approach that would see a change, especially if one of the five years includes the $60 million. We’ll see what this fire season brings. The assurance to the people of the Northwest Territories, of course, is that we will, as a government and as a Legislature, put the resources that we need to to protect the homes, people and the safety and property values that we hold dear in the Northwest Territories. We...

The planning work is going on and has been going on now since the end of the fire season. We will have a compilation of all the feedback and responses and recommendations on a go forward basis by the end of March. That work is being done and funded through the forest division and the staff we have on our payroll. With an internal exercise, as well, we’ve been going out to the regions. I’d ask the deputy if he would want to add a bit more information about the work that’s been in done in anticipation of wrapping up last year and lessons learned for next year.

This is an important part of the economy, as the Member points out, that and the traditional knowledge. We’re committed to carrying on the good work that was done when the funding flowed through ITI. I’ll ask the deputy to just give a bit of a rundown on the various programs we do have that we’ve been administering now for some time both in terms of hunters and trappers assistance, Western Harvesters Fund, community harvester assistance and Take a Kid Trapping and such, with your agreement, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I will ask, with your indulgence, the deputy just to speak to the practice of assisting wherever we can with equipment, fire hoses, sprinklers and pumps as a matter of practice and convention when we have them available.

Once again, it’s a point that I would not disagree with the Member that the idea would be that yes, we have a long backlog of contaminated sites that need to be remediated and on a go forward basis we want to design our processes to avoid the creation of any new ongoing costs that are going to weigh us down, which is why we have invested the money we have in terms of securities and managing all those arrangements and making sure that as we do the project planning and assessment that there are the proper counterbalances in there to accommodate and prevent the type of contaminated sites by being...