Michael Nadli

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories continue to provide updated timetables for schedules for the environmental assessment of potentially contaminated sites for which the GNWT is responsible to be included annually in the public accounts. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to briefly provide my constituents, especially the elders, in terms of the context, in terms of explaining the process of fracking. So I just want to take a couple of moments just to explain to them who are out in the communities.

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Fracking is generally the practice of putting water underneath the ground and ensuring that something comes up, and that’s normally the petroleum resources that are hard to get at. That’s the practice that we’re debating today.

I stand in support of this motion because, you know, we have done...

Thank you. Can the Minister assure me and my constituents that the new space in Fort Providence will be ultimately used to address key health issues? As an example, strategies to promote aging in place and to tackle chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister describe the measures being taken to ensure the new health care facility in Fort Providence is a culturally appropriate space and that the cultural needs of residents will be given due care and attention? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. On April 27th the keys to the new Fort Providence Health Centre were handed over to the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority. The facility cost around $11 million to build and is quite a bit larger than the old health centre. Work on the building has been underway since 2013, so I’m really excited to see it finally open to the public. On June 16, a grand opening ceremony will be held to mark the completion of the work. I’m told it will reflect Aboriginal culture and tradition, so I’m very pleased about that too.

I’d like to ask my constituents to claim a sense of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Finance require all public agencies to include a management discussion analysis in their year-end report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it’s fair that in this circle we work in consensus. Looking at this issue of hydraulic fracking, right across Canada there is no consensus. There are jurisdictions in parts of Canada that have put a moratorium on this very matter. This is at the national level. Perhaps looking at the NWT there is indeed no consensus as well. We have some regions that are prepared and want to do fracking. There are some regions that are against it. But at the same time, there are communities that don’t have consensus on this matter.

Clearly, the best thing we can do is to try to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi. As we all know, last year’s fires signalled a bumper crop of morel mushrooms for this year. Our public information sessions have been extremely popular and people are eager to get involved and get picking.

One Fort Providence resident, Ms. Jessica Minoza, even won a $5,000 prize for her smart start-up: training local people in ethical picking, keeping profits in the NWT. But we’re still facing challenges and it seems like some of them we didn’t anticipate.

First, morels need warm, wet weather to grow. Our hot, dry weather keeps the pickers waiting, potentially...

Other jurisdictions in Canada have established a resolute position in terms of allowing a moratorium against hydraulic fracturing. What makes the NWT different, that we’re not going to follow suit in establishing a moratorium for the NWT? Mahsi.