Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Madam Chair. We’d like to continue with Tabled Document 325-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016. If we complete that, Tabled Document 324-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2015-2016. If we are really efficient, we will move on to Bill 56, Bill 59, Bill 62, Bill 63, Bill 64 and Bill 69.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister: I’m a little surprised that we haven’t yet done an assessment. I would have thought that once we took over the ownership of a property, and apparently we now have responsibility for the Cantung Mine, that an assessment would be done so that we’d know what kind of liability we’re looking at.

So, in terms of this assessment, if it has not been done, when will it be done, and if there is a variation in the amount of liability required by the assessment and the amount of liability we hold, will the Minister aggressively renegotiate the agreement that we have...

Thanks to the Minister. I’ll take that commitment. My information is that out of the $11.6 million that about $5 million is in promissory notes. I think promissory notes as an accepted form of security for the liability and reclamation of a mine are not worth very much. Next to worthless is my understanding.

I’d like to ask the Minister, if some of this security is promissory notes, would he consider asking the company to change them to an irrevocable letter of credit, which does have great value, as opposed to a promissory note which has very little value?

The government mindset from the previous decade seems to still exist where the issue of services for disabled persons is concerned. The issue is still in that black hole. But it must be removed from that black hole. The decade of inaction has to be replaced with a commitment to action. We have 5,000 to 6,000 persons with disabilities in the NWT and about 50 percent of them are seniors. We have a half-finished action plan. We have residents who need better programs and services so they can lead a better life.

It’s not too late to act. This Assembly can send a message to the 18th Assembly. We can...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to the Minister for his comments. I’m really pleased to hear that the department is starting the discussion and is looking at ways to avoid us overspending our supplementary reserve by half as much as what it was in the first place. So, I’m glad to hear that. I was going to say any guess is going to be better than what we’ve got, but I guess an educated guess, a better educated guess is going to be I think better for us in the budget in the long run. So, just a comment. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 325-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2015-2016, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 325-17(5) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this motion, as you may have gathered from my statement earlier today. I want to thank both the mover and the seconder, Mr. Bromley and Mr. Nadli, for bringing the motion forward.

I spoke in my statement about inaction, and a fairly long period of inaction in regard to taking action on the issue of NWT residents who have disabilities and closing the gaps and providing services that close the gaps for NWT disabled residents.

I think it’s important to note, as Mr. Bromley did, he gave you some statistics, but the impact of a disability in a family or in...

Thanks to the Minister. I guess I would say, considering the situation that North American Tungsten is in, it’s imperative that we check what kind of security we have and probably ensure that we have security that is going to assist us in reclamation if they go under.

To the Minister: I’d like to know, we hold $11.6 million in whatever form of security, but how much is the reclamation going to cost for this particular development, this particular mine? Can the Minister advise us what the estimate of the reclamation is and what kind of liability we would estimate we have for this particular...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the last conversation, I have to say kudos to the RCMP for the job they’re doing. They’re doing a great job lately.

My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Lands. I want to follow up on some questions that I asked to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources last week. The Minister of ENR, in answering questions to me about the Cantung Mine, indicated that there is about $11.6 million held in financial security for the Cantung Mine.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Lands what form that security is in. We have several different kinds of...