Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For many years, the GNWT has hired its workforce using a three-stage policy, based on race, residency, gender and ability. In a report filed in November of 1998, called the GNWT Report on the Affirmative Action Policy, the government of the day committed to examining at least one aspect of this, which was the residency condition under this policy. To date, Mr. Speaker, we are looking at about six years now. I am not aware of any changes to the definition of a long-term northerner under the affirmative action policy.

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Constitution does allow...

Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will speak in favour of the bill. As the committee’s report noted, this is the last tax impact bill that this assembly will deal with on the revenue initiatives in the 2004-05 budget address. It was presented to us very responsibly by the Minister in the budget when we looked at doing a number of things that were required or seemed to make good sense for us. Two things stand out for me in support of this bill, Madam Chair. One is that with our very limited ability to raise or generate a lot of our own revenues through taxes, we can only make very minor amendments...

Okay, Mr. Speaker. I won’t pursue that line of questioning anymore. The Premier has made it abundantly clear that the decision is to keep that private. However, I would ask the Premier again, related to this, would these steps require that Mr. Zoe be absent from his job for any substantive period of time, and over what period of time might these steps be required? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thank you. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7 on the order paper.

Mr. Speaker, as the 15th Assembly has been preparing its work plans and its priorities in committee, and in consultation with other leaders in the NWT, a fair amount of attention has been paid to growing and sustaining a workforce with the government that is capable and willing to perform the tasks that we require as a new government. A number of areas of how do we do this, how do we enable our civil service to be the best it can be have been addressed? Is a review of the affirmative action policy one of the priorities that this government will undertake during the life of this assembly?...

Mr. Speaker, I'm looking forward to a process whereby the public can get involved with this, whether it's a panel or a committee process. But we all know that the degree of input, the quality and the calibre of the input will certainly improve when people get access to some resources. So I'd like to ask the Minister would the non-government organizations, or frontline service agencies, be factored into this and be able to access funding or other assistance to help in their involvement in a review of the Liquor Act? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Those sound like very constructive steps, Mr. Speaker, and I won't press the government on which one or how to go yet. I will be quite happy to leave it for some time, and come back with a thorough recommendation. But I would like to pursue, Mr. Speaker, one aspect of this that I believe deserves some attention and should be considered right out front, and that is the approach of saying that we should have two acts; one to administer the liquor on a business basis, and the mandate of the government's social responsibility. I'm wondering if Mr. Roland would advise us...

Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Ms. Lee, has already recognized persons in the gallery, some seniors here, and I would too. My mother, Esther, and her good friend and neighbour, Ed Jeske, and Ms. Barb Hood, the executive director of the NWT Seniors' Society. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the past few months the Yellowknifer newspaper has supplied us with a new and I think very valuable feature, and that is with the assistance of the RCMP and their crime statistics, a snapshot of a very, very real side of life in Yellowknife. It has the number of assaults, break-ins, impaired driving, public drunkenness and shop lifting complaints handled by the Yellowknife RCMP detachment. The headlines are disturbing. There were 528 calls for RCMP service in the two-week period between May 3rd and 16th, Mr. Speaker. Thirty percent of these involved alcohol....