Michael Nadli

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to acknowledge the presence of all the potential candidates that more than likely will be campaigning along with us, perhaps, this fall. In particular I wanted to recognize a constituent of mine. She’s the president of the Status of Women Council. She’s a strong leader in her own right. She served as mayor for a long time in Fort Providence and I wanted to recognize Tina Gargan. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Some comments regarding our budget for this year and most likely our last, generally the budget presents itself as being very balanced in terms of ensuring our expenditures do not exceed our revenues. That has always been the basic approach and tenet of any good organization that tries to deliver service to its citizens or its constituents. This government has done a fair job over the last few years, at least from being an MLA during that time.

The riding that I represent is the Deh Cho riding. We are in the southern part of the NWT and we enjoy the conveniences of being...

I would like to thank the Minister for his reply. Climate change is a big concept. At the community level, people are, in some respects, anxious in terms of its implications. At the same time, they want to see some mitigated measures that they can see at a practical level.

This government has not shown a clear commitment to sustainable, renewable energy sources in our small communities. With electricity prohibitively expensive, economic development becomes less viable.

What is the government doing to ensure that renewable and affordable fuel sources are available in our small communities? Mahsi...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. It’s pretty clear that over the course of the past summer the NWT experienced the worst forest fire season in history. Water levels tend to fluctuate in terms of the mighty Mackenzie and other tributaries that flow into the NWT, plus we have seen anomalies in terms of the migration patterns of the wildlife.

My question to the Minister, as I said earlier, is that science is irrefutable and climate changes are affecting the Arctic regions in dramatic ways. Will the Minister elaborate on this government’s...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The science is irrefutable. In polar regions the climate is changing faster than anywhere else in the world. The climate change does not receive due attention in this government’s strategic and long-range planning. I offer a few snapshots to illustrate the need for urgent action.

Sea ice is changing rapidly. The Arctic Ocean will be almost ice-free by mid-century. Glaciers and ice caps are melting at an accelerated rate. This is increasing the fresh water flow and impacting ocean circulation. Permafrost is warming and losing integrity. Ocean currents are shifting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for highlighting a lot of the initiatives that the 17th Assembly has accomplished. I think we could do more and it’s good that there has been a strong working relationship, especially at the community level.

I wanted to ask, in terms of this year’s budget, the ‘15-16 budget and going forward, what are some of the prominent and significant, perhaps, commitments that the Minister’s department will be focusing on? He has mentioned biomass initiatives, he has mentioned forest management agreements that are still in the development stages...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the areas that the Minister has been clearly outlining is just looking at the local efforts in terms of trying to explore areas of how greater efforts could be made to try to preserve some of the languages that are on the decline. He’s indicated some drastic changes that more likely will be contemplated.

What can this side of the House expect in terms of perhaps one significant focus that his department will undertake to ensure that the languages will not decline and, at the same time, greater efforts will be made to work with the community level? Mahsi.

Experts tells us that the NWT is on the brink of losing some of our Aboriginal languages, and yet Aboriginal governments who are responsible for five-year language plans are receiving substantially less money than they asked for. I’m very worried that they don’t have enough funding to truly succeed.

What is this Minister doing to reverse the tide of language erosion and ensure Aboriginal governments succeed in this area?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Across our small communities, our language use is declining at a scary pace. That means language revitalization is a tricky business. That means the government is aware that the consequences of inaction will be dire or even irreversible.

The government recently transferred the bulk of this responsibility to Aboriginal governments. The rationale behind the decisions is that Aboriginal governments are the experts on their own languages. For my part, I am pleased to see Aboriginal governments being entrusted with the task.

When the Dehcho First Nations met to discuss how to...

I’d like to know the role of the federal government in the Aboriginal language revitalization efforts. The Minister has indicated that funding for ’15-16 would be increased from $1.5 million to $3.4 million. I want to understand whether the federal government is involved with that.

Is the Minister pushing for a stronger role for the federal government in the language revitalization efforts?