Robert C. McLeod

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. As we move forward debating next year's budget, I mean, that will happen, and there will be some initiatives that are brought forward. I believe that the Government of the Northwest Territories, we are so far ahead of the curve on climate change, feeling the effect of climate change. I think some of the work that we've done in that is already incorporated into when we look at the infrastructure that we put in. I suppose, if it is the wish of the Assembly, we can put every little thing into regulation, legislation, and that, just to give the Member comfort, and the...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is, from what I have been told, this was raised during discussions at business plans in the Department of Finance's proposed budget. As far as the third party goes, I think the Member in particular has been asking for the last few years that this be something that -- I mean, we were talking about public governance. Maybe that is the next step, but, for now, it has gone out for an RFP to have somebody administer it on our behalf, is my understanding. The public governance part, I will have to have a discussion with the official. I am not sure if that...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. We'll provide the round figure to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Of course it is a concern, as I mentioned earlier, about the dams that are going there and the water flow to the territory. We see it up in the Beaudel, where the water level sometimes fluctuates up and down. I know we have had some Aboriginal governments who have come to us say that they do have a concern with that and want to know how we plan on dealing with it, so we have been trying to work with them to assure them that the Government of the Northwest Territories is doing what we can to bring their concerns forward. At the end of the day, I believe the decision is...

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is there have been no further discussions, but I'd have to confirm that. Thank you.

There are none.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am a very sharing person, so I would be glad to share that, along with anything else that the Member might want. When the opportunity arises, we will give them an in-person briefing as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left, I have Dr. Joe Dragon, who is the deputy minister of Environment and Natural Resources. To my right, I have Mr. Dennis Marchiori, who is our director of Corporate Services with Environment and Natural Resources. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to try and make as much progress with our partners as possible. We are always prepared to go to the table and do some negotiations. Negotiations involve two parties, and if our other party is not getting to the table as quickly as we would like, then that affects our ability to get this work done. I said before, when I was responding to the Member's question, that I know that I signed the one Transboundary Water Agreement with Alberta. My understanding is that a final BC-NWT agreement was also signed in 2015, and we are holding an information session with...

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Member's comments. My commitment to this Assembly and to the people out there is we will work with our Aboriginal governments because, as I said before, we can't make unilateral decisions on the preservation of caribou. The only way it's going to work is if we have a partnership approach, and good on some of the Aboriginal governments for recognizing that and working with us. Thank you, Mr. Chair.