Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t help building on the pictures that a couple of my colleagues have painted for us. I guess I see perhaps not a Cadillac or a convertible, but perhaps more like a pick-up truck heading toward this debt wall. We’re all in the back of the truck screaming, no. But you know, one thing that has changed is that we do have a new driver and I’m glad it’s Mr. Roland because he’s a journeyman mechanic.

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And he’s going to be able to find the brakes in time. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to reflect a bit on the message, at least one of the messages that Mr...

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the surveys that it did last year indicates that with the low rates that we have, we should be looking at this as a significant advantage. The CFIB points out that this is a competitive advantage for the NWT and Nunavut when it comes to setting up business and employing workers in the NWT. It even goes so far as to credit the board here as being a low cost and well managed board. What steps are we taking to protect that advantage especially in light, Mr. Speaker, of the indication that we have here that rates have increased by...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we have a poor market and an increase in the cost of claims and health care coverage. I was interested in finding out really, you know related to the shared jurisdiction that we have here, have the incidents of accidents and the cost of claims been more or less consistent between Nunavut and the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know from personal experience that running a small business can be a very rewarding and a very satisfying occupation. It can also be very challenging and very risky. In the Northwest Territories, if you’re running a small business -- especially in the service sector -- I don’t think you can be blamed if you’re feeling just a little under siege these days.

Mr. Speaker, at the end of last year, this Assembly increased the minimum wage in the Northwest Territories from $6.50 to $8.25; almost a 30 percent increase. Housing shortages, especially in the Yellowknife area, Mr...

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to getting that information. A bit more specific in the area of the recent increase in assessments in the fast food restaurant; this would, I think, apply perhaps largely to the service sector. The one business that I know of is experiencing a 69 percent increase in assessment rates from one year to the next. The information that I have, Mr. Speaker, indicates that there is a policy or guideline that wants to keep rates, if rates are going to increase, to no more than 25 percent. Could the Minister explain the discrepancy between that threshold or that cap and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are in follow-up to my statement. I would direct them to the Minister responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Board. It is a well-known fact, Mr. Speaker, that the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, under a joint board, have enjoyed among the lowest assessment rates in Canada, but what is alarming is the rate of increase. From four years ago to now, we are looking at rates that are going from a $1 to about $2.40. It is this rate of increase, Mr. Speaker, that I would like to address. My question to the Minister is what are the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the issue here is that while the Minister may be satisfied that our people are satisfied that everything is being done, the public doesn't know. We don't have access to this kind of information. To my understanding, the only information that has been released is a rather sketchy plan that was put out last spring of what the company plans to do; there is really not a lot of detail attached to it. So the public needs access to be satisfied that the plan is indeed a good one. That's what we're looking for, reassurance. Will the Minister undertake some...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is a follow-up to my statement. It's for the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Bell, and it's about the situation regarding the plans for the abandonment and reclamation of the Miramar Con Mine. Mr. Bell, along with myself and some other MLAs, as long ago as last summer, had written to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board and asked for more public access to a review process for how the company was going to shut down this property. I haven't heard anything from the board since then, and I would like to stress again that...

Mr. Speaker, I would agree with the Premier that we should never short-circuit the environment. The circumstances really seem to be unusual; that it is the Department of Fisheries that is advocating this on economic grounds. I have seen the Department of Fisheries’ application to do this. It really seems to be unusual and unwarranted. I would ask, does the Premier agree that the reasons for the application going through really don’t have much to do with the environment at all? Are they appropriate? Are they still appropriate or are they unusual or unwarranted? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act is a very powerful piece of federal legislation that was created a number of years ago. It sets up two fairly powerful boards that regulate the development of non-renewable resources here in the NWT. We’re facing a couple of situations right now that I think are kind of unusual and I want to bring them to the attention of the legislature.

The first one, Mr. Speaker, regards the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, which is now considering a request to take the Deh Cho Bridge proposal to a full environmental...