Bob Bromley

At this time I would like to recognize constituents in the gallery. I’ve got Ms. Katrina Deneron out of Trout Lake, who won the safety poster contest, as well as Ms. Bertha Deneron with her, her sister Faith Deneron, and Bernice Hardisty, who was the organizer from Health and Social Services, Fort Simpson. Mahsi cho.

That’s all. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

That’s fine, Mr. Chair. Thank you for that information.

Mr. Chair, thanks for that confirmation. Thanks for the Minister’s assurances there on protection of local businesses in the Northwest Territories.

The other one we know is that the Minister is spending time in Ottawa with the federal government and other provincial-territorial governments negotiating the European and Free Trade Agreement, so-called free trade. There is no such thing but that is what they seem to call it, and negotiating on behalf of our municipalities because, in this particular so-called Free Trade Agreement, corporations are always digging to get access further and further...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I seem to detect a shifting of responsibility onto communities and a possible shrinking from responsibilities at the territorial level. I hope that’s not true. Does the Minister agree that this is indeed partly a community problem, but that the territorial government has a real responsibility to be in place providing programs on this issue? Mahsi.

The issue is that we know the when does not include the next number of years. So this I view as close to insanity and certainly irresponsible use of taxpayers’ dollars. I wonder if the Minister would commit to giving us a full accounting for the dollars that we’ve given the Aboriginal Pipeline Group this current year or last year and if we can expect that to occur for this fiscal year for this $300,000.

I’m wondering what is the land component of this figure.

Mr. Chair, thanks to the Minister for those remarks. I look forward to that program review office report.

The department and this division specifically is also the lead on trade matters. I know we are hosting the Agreement on Internal Trade, I believe it is. The GNWT is hosting this year. Is the Minister committed to retaining support for local businesses over outside businesses outside the Northwest Territories coming in and taking over from local businesses?

The example I use is, for example, an undertaking service is something that it takes a certain population to develop, and when one does...

Again, the Minister is proposing August. He knows we don’t get together until September and that’s business plans, which means this won’t be in the 2013-2014 budget. Now we’re talking 2014-2015. I guess my response to that is a request to the Minister that he commit right now to having a program in place, proposed, in the draft budgets, the business plan that we review in September.

Is it the understanding of this department that the MGP will not be going ahead for several years, likely late 20-teens, 2020?