Shane Thompson

Both the government of Alberta and the federal government monitor the water quality in the oil sands regions, both upstream and downstream of the oil sands. The GNWT also conducts water quality monitoring on the Slave River at Fort Smith and has done so for many years. As confirmed in the recent release of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation report on the Alberta tailings ponds, the Athabasca River shows no evidence of tailings ponds input downstream.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT has a transboundary agreement with the Government of Alberta to ensure the ecological integrity of our shared waters is maintained. The Alberta-NWT and BC-NWT bilateral water agreements are the most comprehensive agreements of their kind. The agreements require the Government of Alberta to consult with the GNWT on any projects that could impact waters that enter the Northwest Territories, provide notification of changes to the monitoring sites, conduct ongoing monitoring, review the monitoring data, prepare annual reporting on commitments of the agreement, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Public Land Act received assent on August 21, 2019, at the end of the 18th Legislative Assembly. The new Public Land Act consolidates the existing Northwest Territories Lands Act and the Commissioner's Land Act into one cohesive land management regime. To bring the Act into force, new regulations must be developed.

The Department of Lands is taking a phased approach to regulation development. Phase 1 is focusing on the essential regulations necessary to bring the Public Land Act into force in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022-2023. These regulations will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to say the situation in Fort Liard continues to improve thanks to the support of the GNWT. Yesterday, I talked about the amazing work that the community of Fort Liard has done, and today it's about the GNWT.

Following confirmation of the case of COVID in the community, the rapid response team was deployed into the community and did an amazing job of testing and informing the community of what had happened. I am happy to say that they have been demobilized. It is my understanding that one of the nurses from the team has remained in the community to follow up...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 476-19(2): Enforcement on Reserve Lands." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Officials from ENR have done a field assessment of the flooding and have confirmed that there is some impact on the beavers, martens, and their habitats. Loss of beavers and martens due to flooding occurs periodically, and it's a natural part of the ecosystem. This will release nutrients into the environment and provide a source of food for scavengers, including insects, fish, birds, and other mammals. It is not possible to get an accurate count of the number of muskrats and beavers affected, but this event is not expected to have a large or long-term impact on their population. As such, ENR...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Member for the question. He has been doing his due diligence. He has been phoning me throughout as this has been coming out there. Again, I thank him for that. I know he is very passionate about it, and he is working for his residents.

ENR has received data both from Water Survey of Canada and NWT Power Corporation, and we are assessing the situation. The Taltson River has experienced high water levels since the summer. High snowfall and rainfall, including two very large rainfall events in mid and late August 2020, have caused the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to speak about the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially to the community of Fort Liard. As I've heard numerous times, now more than ever we need to come together to support each other. I am proud to say that the community of Fort Liard, local government and residents, the GNWT, and the residents across the NWT have done this with so much class. The response to the COVID crisis has made a positive impact within their community and shows the true spirit of all Northerners.

Being respectful of time and realizing that I cannot do justice to...

I can guarantee the Member will be knocking on my door, asking me more questions, so I greatly appreciate that as we try to educate each other and the public. ENR's hunters and trappers disaster compensation program can assist the traditional harvesters who suffer losses or damage to their equipment or assets because of natural disasters, including floods. The program is available to the NWT harvesters who possess a general hunting license and/or are a land claim beneficiary actively engaged in renewable resource harvesting activities and whose harvesting provides at least 25 percent of their...

The GNWT uses data from the hydrometric gauges operated by Water Survey of Canada. The Water Survey of Canada hydrometric stations are part of the national network of stations that have been operating following standardization methodology over their 100 years. Gauges in the Taltson River basin have been operating since 1962. ENR assessment includes an analysis of Water Survey of Canada data and data provided by NTPC.