Daniel McNeely

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question to the Minister is to what degree is the department involved in the 490 process specifically? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too will be supporting this motion here. I've encountered, since our election putting us in this building, on numerous occasions welcoming patients that were medevaced to the Stanton Hospital, and I try to ease the pain by being there and then also during discussions of the travel. And as my previous colleagues have mentioned here, I think we can design an accommodation. Circumstances are different. There's some circumstances where I had nothing but cooperation from the Minister of Health and Social Services. There were a few situations, it was -- it varied in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Norman Wells Esso oil field is a unique discovery with a low-cost blend. Refining costs are minimal. Mr. Speaker, this unique discovery has operated within our territory for over a century. To release the potential, the operator and the federal owners released a development expansion in the early 1980s.

Mr. Speaker, the asset, as the operator in industry refers to, has recently moved into two sections being called for an EA or, Mr. Speaker, environmental assessment; one being the oil field operating authority and the second a connection been the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thanks to the Minister for that clarification. I'm just wondering if there's any willingness, I would say, into this barging season and I must compliment or acknowledge the support from the Minister for last year's no barging activities to the Sahtu; now this year I see a blank in that category on page 239. Is the Minister open to reviewing this with the possibility that we may not have a barge again this year for entertaining relief? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final supplementary question is, is the Minister aware that this EA, over 300 questions, have been recently submitted with a very limited response time placed by the board? This is a significant number of information requests for the line replacement project considering there is another environmental assessment in progress for the overall operating authority of the Norman Wells facility and likely another EA coming for the closure facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, March is National Nutrition Month. With this year's theme being Nourish to Flourish, the links between food, good health, emotional resilience, and social connections cannot be underestimated.

Mr. Speaker, Food Bank Canada, in collaboration with Nutrition North, is planning a promotional tour of the Sahtu region in April. This initiative will bring together representatives to meet and engage with leaders, community members, on the critical topic of food security and explore how the Sahtu region can position itself to address its unbearable high cost of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm in support of this unit and the objectives or the goals set by this unit and, ultimately, it's to make our health care more efficient, more modern in the process. So I look forward to the -- my continued support and the updates provided by the Minister. Mahsi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm encouraged and we, the GNWT, depend on our federal counterparts, as you know, for many sources of funds for various initiatives. Is there other opportunities that the department is pursuing within the business plan for this fiscal year to access further federal funding?

Take climate adaptation for example, we are the victims of climate change, no doubt, and it's been said by the Minister a number of times that our global environment is warming 4 percent faster. So to address that, there should be ongoing discussions with climate change adaptation. I'm just wondering...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think this is the appropriate activity to ask this question on the bilateral nature fund agreement with the federal government.

Given the expiry of this current agreement, if so will it be sufficient to cover the GNWT's commitments; how does the ECC anticipate funding future protected areas? I guess there's kind of like two combined questions there, Madam Chair. Number one, is there going to be more efforts being made to renew the bilateral nature fund agreement? Then if so, are we going to have sufficient funds there to pursue protected areas? Mahsi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just looking at the business plan here and similar to what I had mentioned to the Department of Infrastructure as we conclude the budget season in preparation for the summer student employment season, would the Minister provide a summer student plan and appendix to the business plan here in the coming weeks, coming months, so that our students could have something to look forward to within this department? Thank you.