Michael Miltenberger

We’ve had this discussion now going back and forth. I’ll keep coming back to the investments we’re making in economic infrastructure, the conditions that we want to create for that economic development, to do the same thing the Member wants. If the Member has a specific tax he wants to talk about… Is he talking about a tax rate, not 11.5 but some other number lower, tax holidays as he calls it for some specific sector? Then stand up and give us a number. Thank you.

Two thousand people in five years is part of a broader strategy where there’s an enormous focus by this Assembly now and in the past, but definitely going forward on the cost of living. That is where we’re going to want to make the investments in critical economic infrastructure, infrastructure like the Fibre Optic Link, infrastructure like the energy infrastructure where we want to go into the thermal communities and come up with ways to cut the cost by getting folks off diesel with biomass and solar and batteries, other alternative energies, LNG where it’s appropriate, as well as the other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A forum such as this will aid in that process. We are at work right now, as I indicated to Mr. Dolynny earlier this week in the House, that the government see Thaidene Nene as a priority. We see a combination of a small federal footprint supplemented and complemented by various northern tools as a way to maximize the benefit and keep the maximum amount of land in northern control. We also recognize this area as one of immense riches and wealth, both in ecological values as well as the various and many blessings in terms of mineral resources. It’s an area that’s very...

Jean Marie River, as well, has indicated an interest as well as Kakisa, I understand.

There will be as soon as we get the key information together and our thinking clearer. We’ve been doing some preliminary work. As I’ve said, we’ve compressed a significant amount of negotiating, about 18 months into six, and we will be coming forward here in the next few weeks with an update and an ongoing portal for folks to stay tuned as to what’s transpiring.

The idea and the issue of a communication plan is an important one and one we’re looking at. We are going to be having a full briefing to Cabinet here in the next couple weeks and then we want to have a chat with committee. Then, once our thinking is clearer, at that point we will be looking at a more formal process of communicating with the public, but first we have to do our own work internally to get to that point.

We are breaking trail here and we’ve done a significant amount of work over the years to get the first two major signings between Fort Resolution and Fort Providence. We’ve had some additional expressions of interest which we are following up on with Kakisa and Jean Marie River, which are tied into the current project of Aurora Wood Pellets with Mr. Mapes. So we’re going to pay attention to those and make sure the ones we have signed are going to have done what they need to have done and be as supportive as possible in the areas we need to be as this business interest takes off as well as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was, indeed, a good news day. There have been resources provided to the community, both in Res and Providence, by the government to the tune of about $200,000 for each community to help give them the SEED money to hire a manager, and the big other critical piece is negotiations that have to take place between the community and the proponent for the business, Aurora Wood Pellets, to negotiate their economic arrangements, which is well underway, I understand, in both communities. Thank you.

Once again, forums such as this, talking to your MLA. I know, for example, some groups like CPAWS have already mounted a campaign getting their members to start calling their Members of the Legislative Assembly and such. I’ve had meetings, as well, with concerned citizens. I know there is lots of interest in this and we will be coming forward with a clear plan of what we intend to do as a government and Legislature in the next few weeks. Until then, people will have to be patient, but they do have to know that we see this as a priority. We see fundamentally this is a very important area. A...

We know that it’s technically possible. We know that it’s practically possible. We know that there are examples of where it has been used and there has been success. The example that the Member has raised is one. They’ve also come up with some very, very interesting ones in other technological areas like health with the lab on a chip and the type of work where they’re going to create in the next few months an actual tricorder from the old Star Trek days that is actually going to work and do what people just thought about in the ’60’s.

We know that that process works. What we need to have is the...