Jay Macdonald

Mr. Speaker, so the encampments within the boundaries of the city are also partially a responsibility of the city, and there are certain bylaws that happen within the city that are relevant to the city that would need to also be adhered to. Environment and Climate Change officers look specifically to the areas in which are under our purview. And certainly these periodic inspections are just that, they're periodic, and it's not the intent of the department to be doing daily inspections to a point where it's harassment type of activity. So, you know, we engage when required and try and ensure...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I appreciate the position of the Member, and I think it's a really good point to raise. Many of the recommendations, you know, the work that's done on a lot of these are ongoing over long periods of time and have other contributing factors that sort of, you know, impact our ability to sometimes complete within the window of the audit, so within that five-year window, and they may be continually ongoing through time. Certainly, I see a lot of value in, you know, as you say what we have total control over as the GNWT, you know, in providing a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following three documents: Annual Report on the Activities of the Rental Officer 2024-2025; Department of Justice Corrections Service Annual Report 2024-2025, and Territorial Police Service Agreement Annual Report (2024-2025). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member from Kam Lake, that Bill 22, Legislation Act, be read for the third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here today to present Bill 22, Legislation Act. The purpose of Bill 22 is to replace the Statutory Instruments Act with a more modern Legislation Act that clearly sets out the territorial regulation-making process, as well as provisions related to the making of statutes. This is in line with trends across the country to replace this type of legislation with more modernized Acts.

The territorial approach to oversight of the regulation-making process dates from 1971 and has remained largely unchanged. The definition of statutory instrument used in the current...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have a specific distance per se to this question. There are a number of factors that would play into the preplanning, if you will, of trigger points. So there's weather, there's wind, there's drought levels, there's moisture, duff moisture codes. There's a number of contributing factors that would be taken into account as they determine what those trigger points are, whether it's a recommendation for an evacuation alert or a notice or an actual evacuation. So those things will vary depending on the specific location. Like I said, the specific level...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, after the 2023 after-action review, there was 25 recommendations that were received by the department, all of which were accepted in principle. So some of the major points I'd like to raise here, work that's ongoing has increased:

We've increased the number of fire crews, aircraft equipment available across the NWT.

We're mobilizing crews and aircraft earlier in the season to complete training ahead of the earlier start to the wildfire season.

We're conducting aerial surveys and thermal imaging to detect and address holdover fires at the beginning of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the wildfire management policy, there's a number of criteria that are looked at and every fire that is detected, a new fire gets some form of action. So there's -- some of the factors that come into play are location of the fire, available resources, proximity to values, proximities to communities. So as these fires start on the landscape, the fire experts within the department take a look at the current situation. They go out, a fire assessment is done. That information is then taken and put into an initial action plan which is used to determine...

Mr. Speaker, the territory's 2025 wildfire season was a challenging one. With 201 wildfires and nearly 1.4 million hectares burned, this was one of the most active wildfire seasons in Northwest Territories' history.

I want to acknowledge the tireless dedication, personal sacrifice, and incredible teamwork of our staff. Wildfire crews showed up day after day to protect our territory. These efforts deserve the recognition and appreciation of this House. Fire seasons in the NWT used to last 8 to 10 weeks each summer. But with climate change in recent years, we have seen crews and fire personnel...

Yes, please.