Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was a pretty skinny answer. Maybe I will try it again. This Assembly and government went through considerable contortions to get the budgets passed, enable this to happen because we believed in the idea. We wanted to respond to those communities that were having problems getting teachers and nurses on site in our communities. The Minister has told us that a bunch of professionals are using them. That’s good. It’s great to see them occupied, but has the corporation managed to put together the costs or the availability of these for that target...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask some more questions of Mr. Krutko, Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. It concerns an initiative that is now in its second year, the market housing initiative. Mr. Speaker, this was something that this Assembly initially supported because it was designed to assist those communities that were having trouble attracting and keeping essential employees for GNWT services, especially Health and Education. We are now into the second and final year of delivering a total of 42 units to communities. What is the status on the...

Mr. Speaker, I am wondering why this particular Minister doesn’t get it, either. The committees and Members on this side are not the constituents or the clients of the Housing Corporation. There are some 23 local housing organizations administering 2,344 subsidized rental housing units. This is the constituency that the corporation should be talking with. We hear that Cabinet has to sign off on a mandate for the Housing Corporation before anybody else has the chance to talk about it. How can it be that this corporation has ignored the people who are really involved, and the real customers, in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for Mr. Krutko, Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the Member for Hay River South, delivered a rich inventory of issues that concern us about the corporation and the way it manages its mandate. Over time, they will, I am sure, get attention. The area I would like to focus on is one of governance, Mr. Speaker, and the mandate under which the Housing Corporation conducts the programs and the budgets that are before us. I wanted to ask the Minister with regard to the review of the Housing...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. One of the key messages included in the pre-budget consultation report that your committee had the pleasure of introducing yesterday was about the importance of early childhood development programs. We all know that this is an upfront investment. When we make an investment in our children, it certainly pays off down the road.

A number of organizations, including the NWT Status of Women Council and Alternatives North, made note of the need for this government to continue to lobby the federal government for a fair allocation of childcare dollars to the NWT. Mr. Speaker, as...

Alright, I'm not at all well versed in this kind of administration. As a taxpayer, I would like a chance to resolve a dispute over a water bill, library fine or a parking ticket in some kind of process before it would go to that higher level or that second tier, being my tax status. Would setting that kind of thing up or requiring it be a responsibility of the territorial government to ensure it's there, or is that something that each municipality has the jurisdiction to decide on? Is there any kind of clarity there? Whose job is it to make sure I have a reasonable chance to argue my case...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't have any further questions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to speak in favour of this amendment. I think the proposal to adjust the fund is prudent business management on the part of the FMBS. From the information provided, I think the new ceiling or floor of $1 million, given the scale and the size of accounts in the number of communities we serve, is a good piece of work. I am happy to see this and I will be voting for it.

In the midst of such a volatile petroleum pricing environment as we have right now, I would want to ask the Minister or his officials if there is any extra concern. There are some forecasts...

Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, I’m not going to be able to keep my money. I’m going to have to give my money to the government while efforts go on to set up a way to return it. Mr. Speaker, how does the government square this? How does it justify proceeding in these smallest communities where the cost is the highest, with taking this deposit but not having a way of returning it? Justify that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this morning are for Mr. Miltenberger as the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, and they concern the Beverage Container Recovery Program, Mr. Speaker, something which this legislature has been working on for a number of years and really with anticipation for the November 1st implementation. However, it has stayed on the radar screen and, unfortunately, not with such a high degree of anticipation. Among a number of issues that continue to dog this program is the realization that now within about two-and-a-half weeks of the implementation, Mr...