Bob Bromley

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the Minister has a vision. Again, some specifics would help us get on board with that.

What are the checks and balances in response to these challenges that are out there? If there is a fair chance that this P3 initiative will fail, based on vast experience nationally and internationally, as we saw with the Deh Cho Bridge boondoggle and so on, but most notably with the building and retrofitting of hospitals in other jurisdictions such as Ontario, what is this government going to do? What is this government doing to ensure we have the fiscal capacity to...

Thanks for the Minister’s response. I’m sure all the other jurisdictions that have had such failures have similarly done the analysis and so on. A 2012 study of 28 Ontario P3 projects worth more than $7 billion found that public-private partnerships cost an average of 16 percent more than conventionally tendered contracts. That’s mainly because private borrowers typically pay higher interest rates than governments. Transaction costs for lawyers and consultants also add about 3 percent to the final bill, and of course, private financiers are looking for a large return on their investments.

Speci...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate, again, the Minister’s response and commitment there. As we know, interest and potential for partnerships to develop a strategy to build an arts hub is high, and with a clear vision, a business plan and government support, this immense opportunity indeed could be realized. It can play a huge role in our territorial economy, and it’s been proven in many jurisdictions.

Will the Minister put out a call indicating exactly how partners, the latent partners out there, the many talented NWT artists and arts organizations, the private sponsors in the NWT and the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Lands today in follow-up on an earlier set of questions about financial security. We last talked about surety bonds being a promise to pay, a form of security, and I asked the Minister if he would agree that that’s not acceptable. He said we will ensure that we have security that’s, as the Member said, something other than a promise to pay.

Now, surety bonds, the point of discussion, Wikipedia defines surety bonds as a promise to pay. Is the Minister still sticking with this or is the media right that in fact we are taking security...

Thanks to the Minister. The Minister anticipated my next question. The department obviously has the largest O and M budget in our government, and most residents consider it the most important department when it comes to quality of life. So any savings that can be made in the efficient delivery of health programs will result, presumably, in increased health delivery.

Will the shift to the leadership council result in significant savings in the delivery of health care programs? I think the Minister has indicated probably. How much can we anticipate? Has the Minister identified any sorts of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health of Social Services in follow-up from his Minister’s statement earlier today. I’ve been following the Minister of Health and Services’ plans to improve our territorial health system through the amalgamation of our eight current regional health boards into one territorial health leadership council.

On the whole, I’m pleased with what I see, but I do have questions. One of the original reasons for regional boards was to ensure a system responsive to regional needs in health care delivery.

Can the Minister tell me, what plans are...

The living wage movement is fairly recent to Canada, but where living wage policies have been implemented in the United States and the United Kingdom, employers and communities have realized significant benefits including increased productivity, lower employee turnover and, most importantly, less poverty and healthier families.

I urge this government to stay tuned on what is happening with communities adopting this standard, to pay attention to the Alternatives North study and to help the communities and people of the North through establishment of living wage communities in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if the Premier would consider decentralizing my position to Hay River.

Just kidding, Mr. Speaker. This week is… Don’t answer that question.

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