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Legislative Assembly briefs Plan needed for diamond industry: Dolynny Laura Busch Northern News Services Published Wednesday, March 20, 2013 "This is a significant leap forward that we're doing in this industry, and we're doing this with no road map - at least nothing that is being communicated," Dolynny told Yellowknifer.
On March 12, Dolynny made a motion in the legislative assembly asking the government to explain in writing how it will enhance marketing for the Polar Bear trademark; how it will work to keep diamond manufacturing in the North; whether or not a diamond bourse - a diamond exchange similar to a stock exchange - will be established in the NWT, which would keep sorting, evaluating and rough box purchasing in the territory; and how the socio-economic agreements with the mines will be upheld when it comes to secondary-industry jobs.
The motion passed, with 10 of the 11 regular members voting in favour. Mackenzie Delta MLA Frederick Blake Jr. abstained from voting as did all of cabinet.
The resurrection of diamond polishing is important to the Yellowknife economy, which has been stagnant in recent years, said Dolynny. However, further steps can be taken to better reap the benefits of NWT diamonds, which make up roughly 15 per cent of all diamonds on the world market, here at home.
Currently, rough stones are shipped from the NWT to a central diamond bourse, often in Antwerp, Belgium, for sorting. Then, some of the diamonds are shipped back to the NWT for polishing.
"Let's keep our diamonds here, folks," said Dolynny, adding the global diamond market has been de-centralizing of late and shipping stones overseas for sorting has become unnecessary.
Cabinet now has 120 days to respond to the motion.
Post-devolution questioned
Following the signing of a consensus agreement marking the end of inter-governmental devolution negotiations, Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro had questions for Premier Bob McLeod about what the GNWT will look like post-devolution.
McLeod replied he did not wish to disclose how the GNWT's department structure will change after devolution because the proposed changes had yet to be vetted by committee.
However, a mass e-mail was sent to all employees of the GNWT on March 11 outlining to government workers how the organizational structure of the government would change, said Bisaro. Why then could the tentative plan not be released to the public? she asked.
McLeod responded government e-mails are considered confidential and held firm that the information would not be released until the proposed changes go through committee.
GNWT cuts carbon emissions
The Greenhouse Gas Strategy is one of the GNWT's main initiatives aimed at responding to the climate change problem, said Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger on March 11.
Through this program, the GNWT has cut its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent between 2001 and 2011, he said.
Most of these cuts were made by introducing wind and solar projects to create power in diesel communities. Also, biomass heating has taken off in the territory and now constitutes about 12 per cent of all heating fuel consumption in the territory, further eliminating the need for burning fossil fuels, he said.
The City of Yellowknife has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent since 2004 through its Community Energy Plan.
Industry is also doing its part, said Miltenberger. Last year, Diavik Diamond Mine installed four wind turbines which generate 9.2 megawatts of power and reduce 12,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
Limited caribou harvest in works
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is currently putting together a proposal for a limited resident harvest of the Bluenose-East caribou herd, Minister Michael Miltenberger announced on March 12.
Once complete, the proposal will be sent to the Sahtu, Gwich'in and Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Boards and the Wildlife Management Advisory Council for their consideration and approval.
Due to bad weather conditions, the survey of the Bluenose-East herd was not completed in 2012 but the department plans to conduct an aerial survey of the herd this summer, said Miltenberger.
At last count in 2010, the herd's population was up to about 100,000 animals from an estimated 66,200 animals counted in the 2006 survey.
Last Wednesday, Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny asked Miltenberger to clarify how residents and outfitters had been consulted during the creation of the limited harvest proposal, and how many tags outfitters may require to "get back in the game."
"What the outfitters used prior to the hunting ban was in the neighbourhood of a total of 700 tags, many of which weren't used annually," said Miltenberger.
Department spokesperson Judy McLinton clarified to Yellowknifer that outfitting tags are not being included in the limited harvest proposal. The caribou hunt is prioritized by the department, with the aboriginal harvest taking priority, then a resident harvest.
If and when the needs of aboriginal and resident hunters are met, the department will look at re-opening the commercial harvest, McLinton said.
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