Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier’s proclaimed legacy of the 17th is devolution of powers from the federal government to the people of the North, but this claim remains a mirage, something shaky and blurry seen on a far off horizon. Like so many of the pickles we find ourselves in and leaving for the 18th to deal with, we allowed Mr. Harper to dictate our actions. The results are no surprise: First Nations groups left out in the cold, federal legislation on which to manage our lands and resources, a government that listens to Northerners worse than Ottawa does. Are our people better off now...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just hope the Minister is right. I’m hoping if I’m ever driven to listening to our proceedings a year from now…

---Laughter

…that I am not seeing this same thing yet again. The sound system sure is a soaker for gobbling up cash. Just a comment. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Could I have an explanation of this last item of $280,000? It sounds like there was a surplus in the child and family services budget for the information system that we’ve been trying to get in place for years now. In fact, I was told there was ongoing work that we’d approved for this fiscal year and that there was even more capital dollars planned for next year to finish off the Child and Family Services Information System. If I’ve got that right, I’m questioning how there can be this $280,000 in surplus given we’re barely halfway through the year, if I’m understanding...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is something I learned about at the recent AGM, annual general meeting, of the Disabilities Council. It turns out that we did good work back in the 15th Assembly and even the 14th. Starting in 2004 there was interest in addressing the issues people with disabilities face. In 2008 there was an action plan that was produced and tabled in the House and there was some good work that went on in between times.

Between 2008 and 2015, however, there seemed to be a major shift and focus away from disabilities. This prompted the NWT council’s interest and proposal to the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The number of people without a warm, safe place to sleep in Yellowknife is indeed territory-wide and, two, growing daily. The housing crisis in the North is the number one social issue in the North.

Where are we at in implementing a Housing First program? So is the Minister willing to adopt the Housing First approach that addresses the need of our growing homeless population? What’s our plan for moving forward? Mahsi.

Thanks to the Minister. Perhaps just a quick follow-up on the monitoring teams. I think it’s clear that we have a record of non-inclusiveness from the government for Regular MLAs with timely information.

What will be the responsibility to get the reports of the monitoring teams in a timely manner to all Members of the Legislative Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you for that update to the Minister. I appreciate that and I think it sounds like we’re getting after it here. So, this is spread over two fiscal years. This will be finishing up the system, if that’s what we’re approving here today. Thank you.

I’m not quite sure what to say here. The Minister seems to be unaware of this, and yet this is fundamental to reducing our energy costs and so on.

Will the promised discussion paper be ready… I can’t even ask the rest of my question so I’ll have to stop here, Mr. Speaker. The Minister doesn’t have any information. I’ll have to say I’m very disappointed. We need our government to be on top of these important issues. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize constituent Roy Erasmus. At least for the next couple of months he’s a constituent of Weledeh. So, welcome to the House.

I’d also like to welcome the visitors from the Yukon. You know, we don’t get nearly enough east-west interaction, so I really appreciate the visitors joining us in the House and visiting Yellowknife. Mahsi.

That sounds good, Madam Chair. I would be happy to provide the Minister with some examples. I’m sure he’s aware of them, but I’ll refresh his memory for people who are not able to get into facilities because of an income barrier. I will leave it at that. Thank you.