Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I gave him his 'yes' last week so he's done for the yeses. So besides the joking aside there. So MACA initiated when were first started, we were looking at three legislations. We brought forward Property Assessment and Taxation, the Fire Prevention Act, and the Senior Citizens Disability and Personal Property Tax Relief Act. Unfortunately, COVID hit, floods hit, flood recovery hit, and so we realistically looked at what can we achieve at this point in time. So what we said is the Senior Citizen and Disability Property Tax Relief will wait until the 20th Assembly. But...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can tell the Member right now we are working with the Indigenous government. We are working with the Tlicho government to get this road up and operational and making sure we do things properly. We just received a letter from the Tlicho government with some valid concerns, and I'm working with them on that.

Both projects took a cooperative approach by engaging with local governments, local Indigenous organizations, stakeholders, and the territorial and federal government to achieve significant local and regional benefits. Given the difference in geologic...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the boreal caribou sustainable harvest assessment report was completed for ENR to identify sustainable harvest levels for boreal caribou in the southern NWT including the Wek'eezhii area. ENR is meeting with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations on the finding of this report. I must really stress we're meeting with Indigenous governments here and our organizations. The report concluded that the area around the road could support some harvest of boreal caribou and so far we have not seen indications that sustainable harvest levels are being...

Thank you, Madam Chair. On my right is Deputy Minister Laura Gareau. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member talks about 1997 and all the backlog of the way things developed. In other departments, I've got 40 and 50 years of backlog so I am working on that there.

So MACA, like what most other departments, does have a policy unit. Unfortunately, some of these positions haven't been filled to date. We have been having some recruitment challenges. However, I can advise the Member and this House here that we're looking at other alternatives and other ways of dealing with it. And like I said, I just had a meeting with the deputy minister and ADM on this exact issue, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Never a backlog; we've always got work to do. So MACA is responsible for 21 statutes and their associated regulations. And some of it needs to be examined to see if changes are required. MACA will be selecting one taking on and prioritizing legislative initiatives. The department needs to balance the age of legislation, its complexity, the nature, and an extent of changes required, whether or not or stakeholders are experiencing issues with its administration. MACA must also consider the capacity of stakeholders to support the legislative development, the NWTAC and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Tlicho government and the federal Department of Fisheries and Ocean established a fisheries management working group to ensure any concerns with fisheries are brought forward and addressed.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Infrastructure developed a fish and fish habitat protection plan with the Tlicho AllSeason Road which considers measures and commitments made during the environmental assessment and incorporate input from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. And we've reached out to the federal government, and we've had these conversations from our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The only person that can speak for the Government of the Northwest Territories is the Premier. What I can say, though, from ENR's perspective, yes, we want to work with our Indigenous governments. We need their input to move forward. It's very much about engaging and consultation with our Indigenous governments. So if he wants an government overall approach, he needs to ask that question to the Premier. But from ENR's perspective, we think participants need to work together we need to get money to work for it to address our issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I explained in this House the GNWT can't try to influence decisions. Regional studies unfortunately fall under the federal government's authority under the MVRMA, I believe that's what it is too many acronyms some days. The GNWT has not developed a position on the regional study. Cabinet will seek input from regular Members on potential positions once input has been received from Indigenous governments. So we're more than willing to work together collaboratively with our Indigenous partners to come up with a position. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. First and foremost, you know, we focus on what the government does, but there's also own community- sourced funding that they be able to allocate, or generate. We also have gas tax. We also reach out every time the federal government comes to us with additional programs out there, we try to tap into that. Unfortunately, you don't see it into the capital plan but there's been lots and lots of money from the federal government that's come into the communities, but because it's only a onetime opportunity, it doesn't show up and it doesn't also show up in a deficit. So for further...