Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Oct. 22nd, 2018

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Thank you for that, Mayor Spence.

I'm going to go to Councillor Jacobson. Do you have a plan like the one Churchill has? Is that something that—

[Merven Gruben]

We have it already.

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

And you're looking for partners to invest. Okay, so there is a plan.

Also, I've been informed that the Minister of Northern Affairs and the Government of the Northwest Territories reached an agreement to review the moratorium two weeks ago. Were you aware of that?

[Merven Gruben]

Yes.

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

A new process is being put in place for consultation and how that's going to go about.

Are you satisfied with having a review of the moratorium?

[Merven Gruben]

If we get involved with it, that would be good. Yes.

[A voice]

And if it's lifted....

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

That's it. That's your time.

[Merven Gruben]

Can I answer back here?

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

No, you can't answer Don. Sorry.

I've been trying, but no—

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

She's trying to cut me off.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Hopefully you'll have an opportunity in the next round of questions.

We'll keep going. We're moving to MP Arnold Viersen.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thanks for being here today. Did you want to respond...? Okay.

I understand that, with Churchill, you're either flying, coming on a ship or taking the rail. There's no road to Churchill.

Tuk got a road recently. Is Churchill looking at that option?

[Michael Spence]

Going back, I think it was in 1999 that we were part of a study with the Kivalliq district of Nunavut in terms of looking at a road from the Kivalliq district through Manitoba. We were quite surprised, when the study came to our community, that people wanted to see a road.

I think what's really critical here is that we have a rail line that can be utilized at a lesser cost to operate, so maybe that will be another day.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

It's not a real issue for you.

[Michael Spence]

It's not a real issue right now, but it could be in due time.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Yes.

Is there a lot of resource development around Churchill?

[Michael Spence]

No, the resource developments are north of us, within the Kivalliq district. The investment that's gone into exploring the Kivalliq district of Nunavut is quite remarkable.

I remember going up there in the 1990s and the early 2000s. Now development is really taking off, and it's great for them.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

In what sector?

[Michael Spence]

It's gold mining and diamond mining.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Does the oil play affect Churchill at all? Is there any offshore in Hudson Bay or—

[Michael Spence]

No, not that we're aware of. It's strictly minerals just north of us.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

I can't imagine that a whole bunch of logging happens up there either.

[Merven Gruben]

All the trees are gone.