YELLOWKNIFE (April 13, 2015) – Premier Bob McLeod and Minister of Environment and Natural Resources J. Michael Miltenberger will participate in the ‘Sommet de Québec sur les changements climatiques’ in Québec City tomorrow.
QUEBEC (April 13, 2015) – The Premiers of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are bringing the interests of Northerners to the April 14th Quebec Climate Change Summit.
YELLOWKNIFE (April 9, 2015) – Environment and Natural Resources Minister J. Michael Miltenberger has listed Dolphin and Union caribou as a species of special concern and northern leopard frog as a threatened species in the Northwest Territories (NWT).
YELLOWKNIFE (April 1, 2015) – The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is proposing new regulations that set out the filing requirements for companies planning hydraulic fracturing operations in the NWT.
They require industry to meet additional requirements related to baseline surface and groundwater information, public disclosure, air quality, and enhanced reporting.
ŁUTSEL K’E, NWT (April 1, 2015) – The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) and Łutsel K’e Dene First Nation (LKDFN) are working with other Aboriginal governments towards the establishment of a “made-in-the-North” approach for Thaidene Nëné (thai-den-eh-nen-ay).
Alberta and the Northwest Territories have signed an agreement to protect the integrity of water flowing downstream from Alberta to the Northwest Territories.
Edmonton (March 18, 2015) – The Alberta-Northwest Territories bilateral water management agreement commits both governments to co-operatively manage water resources. The agreement focuses on aquatic ecosystems in the Mackenzie River Basin, the longest and largest river system in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, with more than 4, 338 interrelated species and counting, the state of biodiversity in the Northwest Territories provides us a rare chance unavailable in most other regions in Canada or the world—the ability to proactively plan a healthy future for land, water, wildlife and people. Our land, rich in biodiversity, contributes to the high quality of life we all enjoy in the NWT. Our food security and traditional economy rely on maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem integrity in the North.
Mr. Speaker, regulated electronics recycling programs are in place or under development in all Canadian provinces and the Yukon Territory and we are making good progress on an electronics recycling program in the Northwest Territories.
Recycling electronics helps prevent harmful materials from leaching into the environment when disposed in landfills, burned or left on the land. Recycling old electronics into new products also minimizes environmental impacts related to extracting raw materials through mining and other activities.
Mr. Speaker, in support of our Government’s NWT Biomass Energy and Greenhouse Gas Strategies, the promotion and use of biomass technologies remains a priority for this government in its efforts to reduce energy costs and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
With the ability to reduce the fossil fuel usage of a building by 80 to 90 percent, the Department of Public Works and Services’ early adoption of, and continued use of renewable biomass energy technology is something I wish to highlight today.
Delivered on February 17, 2015
Mr. Speaker, last year’s extreme forest fires burned an area of over three million hectares. While it was likely the worst fire season we’ve ever had, wildland fires are a natural occurrence, leading to forest and wildlife renewal.
One early sign of renewal is the appearance of morel mushrooms, and we anticipate a bumper crop this summer.
