Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our forests offer an amazing potential for diversifying our diet, from birch syrup to nutrient-laden mushrooms and other foods. Renewable energy is available in every community, varying from area to area. Building skills and materials are available, but need investigation and development.

The Minister of Finance noted yesterday that we are totally vulnerable to rising costs and global economic conditions, yet he failed to address how to become less vulnerable. Instead, this government's sole response seems to be to join the madness and pursue mega-development with...

Mr. Speaker, again I’m talking local here. It would be great to see the federal government involved, but I’m talking the Northwest Territories communities; I’m talking about our own people. We need to be doing this ourselves. We need to provide the leadership. We have small communities; these are not huge bunches of people out there. We have demonstrated productivity of our land back in the ’60s and ’50s and ’40s.

Will the Minister and Cabinet commit to putting together comprehensive plans to meet our basic needs like the food situation? Let’s start with this Minister and food.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to follow up on my Member's statement this morning about using local resources to meet some of our basic needs. I'd like to talk about food. As everybody knows, food costs are rising rapidly around the world, and the Northwest Territories is no different. The quality of food is declining and the availability of food is going down as the impacts of climate change and other factors are felt. Our soils are less productive and so on. I think the public really expects a new approach in dealing with these sorts of things, and I think there are lots of opportunities for win-win...

Again, thank you for those remarks. Does the federal program that we’ve now learned about — the Building Canada Fund, somewhere between $27 million and $35 million a year — contribute and allow us to cut less to achieve our budget goal?

Just to add to that, if I can. Am I correct, from the Minister’s remarks, if I said we were about a third of the way on the cuts? A quarter?

My question is for the Minister of Finance, and it’s an attempt to once again bring clarity to an issue that keeps bubbling away out there. I was astounded to hear this morning on CBC radio — I believe it was Mr. Lee Selleck talking about hearing Mr. Abernethy, who said that there would be a reinvestment of $70 million along with cuts of $135 million. Mr. Selleck wondered if it was actually a leak of information. I was equally astounded the other day to talk to the author of a Parkland Institute report, an excellent researcher and so on, who knew nothing about it.

We’ve raised the issue of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues.

Especially lacking is a new, innovative response that recognizes the crucial realities and new approach required today. All of these that I've just mentioned are in conflict with our intent.

This session will be difficult, and we will all be working hard. As Regular Members we are unable to add items to the budget, only to delete or recommend change. As the leaders in a consensus government, the Premier and Cabinet have a responsibility to hear the Regular Members, and to finally allow us the input our constituents and the people of the NWT expect us to...

Again, Mr. Speaker, thank you for those remarks. One final one on the cuts. I believe layoffs were something we had discussed early on as part of the cuts. They were intended to be based on a thoughtful, comprehensive program review, possibly even a zero-based review. Were those reviews done as a basis for those cuts, and if not, should those cuts have been delayed?

Thank you for that clarity. I hope that word gets out. I cannot believe that we’re at this stage and there’s still confusion out there on such a fundamental fact. Just for further clarification on the Minister’s later remarks: how far are we down that road toward the $135 million and the reinvestment of $75 million with this budget today?

Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to recognize Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA in Yellowknife.

The annual budget for the Northwest Territories reveals much about a government: its vision, its effectiveness, its leadership and its capability to deliver. As part of the 16th Legislative Assembly, I cannot claim that we have earned high regard from our people on the basis of these standards.

We embarked on budget planning with good faith, confidence in the information provided by the Minister, and a common understanding of this Assembly’s vision and priorities. We had a commitment to positive change and agreement on the budget goals and the process to realize those goals. Yet subsequently...