Thank you, Madam Chair. Welcome to the Minister and his guests.

I’ll just start by saying I appreciated the budget as the Minister laid it out. I thought it was a reasonably good budget as far as it went. It was certainly a good budget speech, although we might want to think about how to present in additional engaging ways and response. But there was much that was unsaid as well. I don’t expect the Minister to be able to cover everything. But I want to acknowledge that it was a very frank and honest budget, acknowledging fully many of our challenges. The unsustainable nature of our current...

Thanks to the Premier. That’s exactly why I’m bringing this up, although it’s extreme. The science is recognizing that we are dealing with an extreme situation and the government is thinking about these things, so it’s an opportunity. The regional expectations are great. Hopes and dreams are based on fossil fuels. I know this sort of thing will be very disappointing to them, but on the positive, renewable energy development is much more labour intensive, much more equitable in spreading the benefits around and produces a much more durable economy.

Does the Premier agree with that and is he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my Member’s statement with questions to the Premier. It’s kind of a wild idea, obviously, given the direction we’re headed and so many jurisdictions around the world are.

Is the Premier and his Cabinet familiar with the science suggesting that 80 percent of the fossil fuels known reserves must stay in the ground if we are to avoid dangerous climate change and also the most recent publications in Nature that deal with those areas and types of resources that can be tapped into and still avoid that condition? Thank you.

They must also know that we must turn to renewable energy-based development in order to minimize the destruction and begin to build a sustainable future. On behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories, what will it take to reverse this participation in the insane march to destruction and shift to a truly beneficial and progressive renewable energy-based economy?

As the great Canadian Ms. Naomi Klein says, “It’s time to stop digging poisons from the deep and shift with all speed to powering our lives from the abundant energies on our planet’s surface.” Residents of the North call upon our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 8 on the Order Paper, oral questions. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent denied

Thanks to the Minister. You know, many times I’ve heard my colleagues, and I myself have asked the questions, what are the specific challenges that the Minister mentions and what are the specific safeguards in response to those. Once again, the Minister said, we’ve got great people working on this. So again, I hope the Minister will make that clear to the public and to the House.

Mr. Speaker the RFP for the Stanton rebuild has just been made public. The list of jobs to be privatized is growing. In addition to maintenance jobs, we now know help desk services, plant services, waste management...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for Minister Miltenberger and Finance. I have questions about the P3 contract we are proposing for the retrofit of Stanton Territorial Hospital.

I am worried that it may not be the best deal for the people of the Northwest Territories. Research indicates that failure rates are high, that they amount to a huge transfer of tax dollars to private financers, and buyout of P3s are becoming more common. Because it’s politically expedient to defer expenses and avoid debt, the government is essentially renting money rather than borrowing it more cheaply on...

I appreciate the Minister’s response there. The artist community and the public, indeed, hugely appreciate the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre’s display of art, both from within and outside the NWT, but of course, it’s woefully inadequate for the need. That’s well recognized by Prince of Wales as well as the arts community and the public. The arts community, which is a diverse one, with dozens of genres representing the various forms across the NWT, their focus varies and their voices are diverse.

The conversation acknowledging the need for an arts hub, a centre that can provide both...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment as the lead on the arts.

The NWT, as we know, is blessed with amazing artistic talents. Every jurisdiction in Canada has an arts centre with their artisans, and public can enjoy art from the perspective of both the artist and the citizens. The NWT does not. Artists in the Northwest Territories have extremely limited options for the display of their finished work and very few options for collaboration and learning.

Has the Minister been hearing what I have been hearing? Is the Minister aware of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this motion. I would like to just put out a few points, some of which may have been presented already by my colleagues and I think they have done a great job at listing many of the benefits.

First of all, would an ombudsman impinge on an MLA’s work? This has been something that I’ve thought about for quite a while, and I have concluded today, no. MLAs are adept at seeking the best support for their constituents. They will quickly identify the ombudsman as a critical tool, a critical arrow in their quiver when needed, but also Cabinet, I believe, will...