Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand in support of the motion by Mr. Ramsay. The basis of this is very much as I spoke earlier today, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that there is a standard of decorum and respect for those who are closest to us as we undertake our work and that this is a move, as regrettable as it is, that I feel compelled to support, not only as I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, for the people in this Chamber but for everyone who takes on the mantle of public service. Along with that goes the concerns, and the reputations, and the feelings, and the consciences of the people who are closest...

Indeed, Mr. Speaker, I have that call letter in my hand right now and it’s certainly something I am going to give a lot of attention to. We went through this process earlier this year. We came up, I believe, with a good name, one that had my confidence. I wanted to ask the Premier if he got any reason from the Minister of Northern Affairs for the rejection. What are the criteria that the federal Minister wants to put on our nominee, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for the Premier and this is in relation to the appointment of GNWT representatives to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board…I’m sorry, the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, a position that has been vacant now for some 10 months.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier was, I recall, quoted in a recent media interview as saying that while the initial nominee of our government has been rejected by Minister Prentice of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, that our government should really undertake to give him a few more...

  Thank you, Mr. Speaker.  Political life is something that we all enter into because we seek to do something for ourselves, for our communities, for our families, and it can be tremendously rewarding and satisfying when things go right. Good things in life and the satisfaction and the respect that can come from engaging in this does not come cheap. There is always a price to pay. We all walk a fine line every day, depending on the issues or the subjects or the problems that are before us, and we do what we think is right. Of course, that does not always work with everybody, so there are...

Mr. Speaker, what steps has the government taken to tell Ottawa how angry we are with their actions?

Mr. Speaker, does this mean we have $18 million in new funding that we can find some programs or some additional things to spend it on, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question at this time is for Mr. Handley as the Minister responsible for the Executive and it relates to the broad swath of cuts to numerous programs that the federal government announced late last month. The question I would like to ask, Mr. Speaker, is, from a government-wide perspective, what is the overall impact on our territory of the federal cuts on programs and services here in the NWT, Mr. Speaker?

Okay. So to some extent it was a revision of federal transfers or payments or contributions, then, Mr. Speaker. Is any of this subject to clawback in future years, Mr. Speaker? This is an aspect of our formula financing deal with Ottawa that has caused us considerable disruption, so are we going to have to look at having any of this amount clawed back in future years, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How, then, does this $18 million surplus translate? What does it really mean for us here in the Assembly and for our communities and for the programs and the people that we serve, Mr. Speaker? Does this mean we will be able to look at some other options or some new options in initiatives or spending, Mr. Speaker?

Okay, we're in question period, right?