Alfred Moses

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a few general comments in regard to this operations expenditures supplementary appropriation. First off, I understand the amount of money that we’re putting into the special warrant for the extreme fire season that we did have. Speaking to some of my former colleagues in the industry, they mentioned that we’re going to see an even drier summer next year and maybe even a more extreme fire season, and want to know what the Minister and government is doing in terms of looking to address that issue. That being said, we can look at possibly another low water condition at...

Earlier in my Member’s statement, I mentioned that specific… I have stood up in this House and talked about the bootleggers, drug dealers and the way they transport these illicit drugs and the alcohol to the communities.

I would like to ask the Minister, would he be willing to put in, I wouldn’t say a pilot, but putting in a temporary Forfeiture Act as such, specific to illicit drugs in terms of selling as well as alcohol and the bootlegging? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about this Forfeiture Act and the proceeds of crime legislation. There are jurisdictions in Canada right now, such as BC, Alberta and Nova Scotia, most recently, that have a Civil Forfeiture Act and it has been brought up in the House before on this side of the House.

I would just like to ask the Minister responsible for the Department of Justice, is the department looking at establishing such legislation for the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have stood up in this House many times to talk about drug dealers and the bootleggers in the communities and what this government is doing to curb the activity and the harm that they do to our residents of the Northwest Territories.

I want to take it one step further today and I want to talk about what this government is doing in terms of creating a proceeds of crime legislation, such as a Civil Forfeitures Act, like the provinces of BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. What this act would do is freeze, take possession of or forfeit any property that’s used...

Thank you. We’ve had this discussion throughout the elected Assembly with the issue going on in Inuvik with the LNG fuel shortage, all those concerns brought up before. My question was specific to the homeowner and small business operator and that they can actually get subsidized, so at the end of the day they have a few dollars in their pocket so they can get the essential services, such as food, that the Minister mentioned in his response.

Once again I’d like to ask the Minister, is he looking at some type of subsidy for the homeowner so that at the end of the day they’re not paying the full...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know there’s a high cost of living here in the Northwest Territories, and the further north you get and the more isolated you get in the communities, those prices go up. The high cost of living in Inuvik is causing many hardships that I have never seen before or that residents of Inuvik have never seen before.

Last week we heard in the House that even though the price of oil has dropped throughout the world, we don’t see that reflected here in the Northwest Territories, specifically for home heating fuel. Why isn’t this regulated? Why don’t we get people bringing...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just in light of the events that took place last year in the communities that were put at risk and not only that but having enough resources in terms of manpower, I think that the motion brought forth that we have before us is a motion that shows government supports our forestry division.

I honestly think that keeping the 215s, we need as many resources as possible along with the 802s, and I think they would be more efficient in terms of having initial attacks with the fires. Having more fleets would also be a safety mechanism, so we wouldn’t put some of our individuals on...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, Bill 33 amends the Elections and Plebiscites Act to:

replace the provisions for advance polls with a new special voting opportunity;

modernize requirements relating to campaigning, including requirements with respect to campaign advertising and sponsor identification;

require candidates to file statements from banks or approved institutions in support of their financial reports;

increase the number of electors for whom...

I understand that if you do it for all thermal communities that it would get to a high cost burden on government. However, this year alone, ’14-15, we’re subsidizing heating fuel for public housing, affordable housing units in the Northwest Territories to the tune of $9 million. You add to that electrical power, water and sanitation, this year we’re subsidizing all communities to the amount of $25 million, almost $26 million, and that’s not even including any supplementary appropriations that we might see come before committee at some point. So, we’re doing it right now for public housing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve heard some really good questions from Members on this side of the House today in terms of how we’re trying to address the cost of living in the small communities and all communities across the NWT. We’ve also heard subsidies. Just in terms of heating fuel, this government over the last five years, including this fiscal year, has subsidized public housing units and affordable housing units to the tune of $39 million in heating fuel alone. We have residents out there who pay market rent or who also own their own homes.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance, seeing...