Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps today is Mother’s Day here because I am so proud to recognize my mother, Esther Braden, and to tell her I love her very much. With her, Mr. Ed Jeske, a regular attendee of at least our opening days every session here in the Legislature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Mr. Speaker, one of the terms of comfort that we offered was to say that it’s the intention of the GNWT to maintain a post-devolution royalty regime for the three anchor gas fields. Now, we have always said, government has always said that First Nations' governments have got to be at the table whenever we talk devolution. Did we consult with the First Nations on this position? Did we compromise their interest by agreeing to lock in to royalty rates in a post-devolution environment?

Consultation is an enormous need and an expectation that we have and that we’re going to be able to do our job over here. But this was, among many, the greatest example, the worst example, Mr. Speaker, of how this government has failed to consult with the Members on this side.

There is a major policy position at stake here -- huge -- potentially affecting millions of dollars in future revenues. Why did the Premier and the Cabinet not consult with MLAs until hours before they released that letter?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to address my questions to Premier Handley. This is in respect of communication with proponents of the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline. Mr. Speaker, we have been seeking a fair share of our resource royalties for years in the NWT. There was a golden opportunity to really get somewhere; that is to bargain with the gas producers’ need for certainty on tax and royalty regimes, to translate that into certainty for our own need here in the NWT for fiscal fairness from Ottawa. Mr. Speaker, why didn’t the Premier and the Finance Minister stand up and fight for the...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Achieving devolution and a fair share of resources revenue sharing must continue to be the top priorities of this government, but in last November, Mr. Speaker, that priority, in my opinion, took a major setback when Premier Handley and Finance Minister Roland delivered a letter -- no ordinary letter, Mr. Speaker -- to the four major producer groups in the Mackenzie Valley pipeline and TransCanada Pipelines. It was a so-called letter of comfort demanded by these stakeholders before they would proceed with the regulatory hearings now underway. The letter offered strong...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s caution on this. I have looked into the same point in raising these questions, and the information I have is the process has actually been concluded and is something that can be looked at in this House. So I would like to continue with my questions on this point.

Mr. Speaker, some of these appeals tribunal processes are now four years old. Workers continue to be stymied by this. While the WCB Act is not specific in allowing employment insurance earnings, and it gives the board, or the tribunal, the discretion to rule on these kinds of...

I, too, would like to welcome all the youth who are here today. It is great to see people, that generation, paying attention to what is going on in here. I would very much like to welcome the folks from the other spectrum of the generation…

---Laughter

…our seniors. It is just a great pleasure to welcome my mother, Esther Braden.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome Mr. Dent back to the Assembly, after doing battle with his colleagues on the federal front. I would like to ask him questions in his capacity as the Minister responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Board. In my statement earlier today, I explained the dilemma that injured workers find themselves in, because the WCB has not accepted that it should include EI remunerations in the calculation of an injured worker’s pension. Mr. Speaker, why has the WCB refused to accept multiple rulings from the independent appeals tribunal process, to include employment...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. The issue of unresolved workers’ compensation claims of injured workers has been the subject of many of my statements and questions. For some injured workers, Mr. Speaker, through our process, it has become a never-ending treadmill of appeals and systemic process. For a number of these workers, when they think they are getting ahead, wouldn’t you know it, but along comes some rule changes.

Mr. Speaker, just to explain briefly, if a worker is injured on the job, they expect to receive a disability pension, or allowance, depending on their injury...

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. When we recognized the clock, I was seeking just a bit more information on one aspect of administration, when it comes to unpaid bills, how and whether these bills -- they could be for services like unpaid water bills or even library fines or parking tickets -- would be put onto my tax bill. I wanted to know that before this transfer to my tax account happened, as a municipal taxpayer/resident, that I would have a chance to address any discrepancy in some kind of organized process. The question that I had is, whose job is it to ensure the taxpayer has a way to get...