Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

During both the 18th and 19th Assemblies, some committee Reports have included dissenting opinions. The Rules don’t address dissenting opinions and how they can or should be incorporated into committee Reports. Committee recommends:

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the following be added after Rule 9.4(1):

(1.1) One or more Members of the committee may indicate that they dissent from a particular recommendation or comment.

(1.2) A Member or Members who wish to express the reasons for their dissent may do so in an appendix to the report.

(1.3...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to rise in the House to talk about the Youth Parliament that was held April 17th to 20th here in Yellowknife. I appreciate the Legislative Assembly staff and the Speaker for putting on this amazing event.

As you are aware, the Youth Parliament provides our youth a unique opportunity to travel to Yellowknife to take on the role of an elected Member and participate in the daily workings of consensus government at the Legislative Assembly. What is impressive about this opportunity is for students in grades 9 and 10 from across the Northwest Territories.

T...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to correct the Member. I did not say our Indigenous athletes cannot go to the Canada games, Arctic Winter Games. I'm just telling you this is where our athletes go or where they're able to go. So I respectfully disagree with the Member.

In regards to his question, in the NWT we continue to see that smaller communities continue to face challenges and barriers with capacity building at the community level to have more sports development locally and the number of volunteers and sports leaders in every community needs to increase to young athletes to develop.

Munici...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Canada Games are a unique multisport competition that brings together the very talented athletes in the country, and many of which go on to represent Canada at the national and international level. There is more to be developed where athletes and coaches in all 33 communities, and I agree with the Member on that. But this is more than just funding; it's also about developing coaches, officials, and organization, and it's about communities and schools keeping facilities open so that our athletes have a place to train and develop. With Canada Games, it is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility for fire smarting in NWT communities is shared by all. And you heard me in my Minister's statement here, it includes the public, homeowners, local, territorial, and federal governments. All 29 forest communities in the NWT have community wildfire protection plans that help guide them in preparing and responding to wildfires. ECC has worked with communities to make sure their plans are updated and continue to provide ongoing advice and assistance to help them implement their plans. The NWT Association of Communities recently received $20...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said previously, ECC was prepared for a possible early start to this fire season and had crews, helicopter and air tanker on strength in Hay River. ECC staff were able to respond to the fire on the morning it started with the information of the smoke. A helicopter and initial attack crews responded from Hay River immediately. Another Electra from Alberta arrived mid afternoon to assist. But the evening of the day the fire started, four crews and three helicopters were also working to contain the fire. Crews from Wood Buffalo National Park also assisted early in the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Environmental Rights Act Annual Report 20222023; and, the NWT Surface Rights Board Annual Work Plan and Budget (Core Funding) for 20232024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to talk about the village of Fort Simpson's deputy fire chief, Pat Rowe, who retired from the volunteer fire department after 40 plus years of service. Upon returning home from his tour with the army, Pat joined the department in the 1980s. As he said, it was a natural fit, especially after being trained to fight fires in the Armed Forces. As well, it was his way to give back to the community. As he has been quoted in several news articles, it's a job that needs to be done; I just happen to have enough training to make a difference. That's a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was hoping that we would have been in a position to have a lottery or ballot draw during the life of this Assembly. However, there are complex issues related to the issuance of new leases in this area that remains unresolved. It is important that we take the time to discuss and make progress on these issues before we conduct another ballot draw. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I think I'm going to give the same answers the Minister of Lands used to give. So we're working with the IGC process. We're working with our Indigenous government. And so it is a process that we need to respect, and it's going to take a little bit of time but we're trying to make sure we get it right. And so, again, what I'm hoping is to have it done but we still need to respect the IGC process. Thank you.