Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is fine, that is all. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, then to the business community doing business with this government, and we are a major part of the economy here, how then do I take that kind of an explanation and work it into my business plan so that I know that there’s going to be some consistency, some predictability, some stability to how I operate my business and how I do business with the GNWT? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am just trying to do the math quickly here. It looks like about 15 percent. Are we adding about 15 percent to the previous estimate?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for the Premier. They relate to the whole area of our government’s application of policy and the measures by which we apply that. It was interesting yesterday afternoon, Mr. Speaker, in response to a question from my colleague, Mr. Hawkins, that the Premier said the following, and I quote from the unedited Hansard, “Mr. Speaker, I have to say that policies are policies. They’re general directions and guidelines. They’re not one of the Ten Commandments. They’re not laws. There is room for some exception there where we can warrant it.” So I...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to comment and ask a question about the policy of the Board of Management, which of course the Speaker is reporting on behalf of, and it concerns something that I’ve had some feedback on from constituents. It’s about the housing allowance policy that is in place to provide those MLAs who don’t live in Yellowknife adequate resources to set up in effect what amounts to a second household for them. Understandably there are costs incurred for them and the Assembly quite rightly has a responsibility to provide that. The cost of rental housing in this city has been...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So a case-by-case basis. You know, overall, there’s a lot of case-by-case, one-at-a-time, we’ll think about it kind of approach. I would like to know in the area of consultation and communication, which is such a big part of the environment we work in, is the government looking at adopting a formal consultation policy so that everyone knows what the parameters and the thresholds and the ground rules could be? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister advise what performance measures or what indicators of performance? Is it going to be meeting its objectives? How is this new council going to be measured for its success? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am afraid I am going to have to use my second question to repeat my first one. What are the issues or the problems that require the creation of yet another governing body in support of recreation? I would really like to know why this organization has to be brought forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sport and recreation and healthy lifestyles are more and more critical to our society, to the health of our population, to our enjoyment of this great land. We have many wonderful and successful partnerships in this between governments at all levels, between businesses here in the Northwest Territories, and, of course, a huge body of very dedicated and committed volunteers. Over time, though, Mr. Speaker, we have seen a number of different bodies come into existence and be recognized by government for some part or other in the sport and recreation milieu. There are, I...