Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Employment and Family Assistance Program is a confidential, voluntary-based counselling and referral service available to all GNWT employees and their dependents, to assist with a wide range of personal and work-related issues. The Employment and Family Assistance Program offers a wide range of services, including a variety of mental health services, and can be accessed 24 hours a day. The service allows people to discuss personal problems and concerns in an understanding and professional environment, away from the workplace. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, GNWT has concerns about potential adverse impacts of projects on the population and habitat of transboundary wildlife species while recognizing the potential benefit of any proposed projects. Calving grounds are widely considered, both from a scientific and traditional knowledge perspective, as the most sensitive habitat for migratory barren-ground caribou herds, and so we do take very seriously and look at very closely any projects that are happening within the calving grounds. As the Member noted, we need to do what we can do to protect those calving grounds. Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 4, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2018-2019, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Bathurst caribou herd did decline to about 19,800 caribou in 2015. It was a 96 per cent decline from peak numbers estimated, as the Member pointed out, 472,000. The herd was fairly stable 2009-12, but declined further 2012-2015. A calving photo survey will provide an updated population estimate, and it is planned for June of 2018, and then management will be revisited once a new herd estimate is known.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 4, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2018-2019, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will work with my colleagues, but as far as the budget line goes, I don't think that is in the plans right now. The work for summer students is based on an operation basis, so as there needed to do some work, they are hired or to work on special projects. The operation requirements vary between the departments, but as I have pointed out before, we have seen an increase in the numbers. All of the Cabinet Ministers have encouraged their departments to try and bring on more summer students.

I am going to use this as an opportunity to point out the three departments within the government that had...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Jackson.

---Laughter

Well, he said we're on a first name basis today.

---Laughter

I'll take that.

Protocol usually has that the chair of Caucus would move a motion such as this, and I appreciate Julie allowing me to do this, being a long-serving Member. I don't want to say the oldest; a long-serving Member. I appreciate all the comments, and I think that speaks well to the work that not only Doug does, but a lot of us in here. We're the face of our department; we're the face of committees; we're the face of the government. However, there is a lot of work that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member pointed out before that the government has hired 349 summer students this year. That is the highest number we have had in the last five years. We have challenged our departments actually to try and find more, including in a lot of the small communities, because I would like to see a summer student hired in every community, but if you look at the number of summer students who are hired by maybe the local housing authorities or the municipal government organizations that are funded by the government, I think those numbers would go up. I have been...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let's try that again.

WHEREAS Douglas Schauerte was appointed Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly in 1995;

AND WHEREAS Mr. Schauerte has provided devoted and exemplary public service to the Legislative Assembly for more than 30 years;

AND WHEREAS during Mr. Schauerte's 10 years as Deputy Clerk, the system of democratic and responsible government in the Northwest Territories has undergone rapid and significant change;

AND WHEREAS Mr. Schauerte will retire as Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly on October 20, 2017;

AND WHEREAS it is customary for Legislative...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very happy to second the motion. There have been a number of motions over the past number of Assemblies on protection of the caribou and this is just another one, but I think now, more than ever, it is quite critical that we follow through on this one because as the Member pointed out, I had exactly the same stats on the amendment that was made that was defeated that would have taken the Arctic wildlife refuge, the last wildlife refuge, out of it.

As the Member pointed out, it failed, and so there are two more people who need to be convinced. I do know that there are...