Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to increase the number of times an elector may vouch for another elector from one to five. This is in recognition in some of our communities where more than 50 percent of the residents eligible to vote do not have government issued identification.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be supporting this motion. We started originally with the recognition that we really needed to move forward strongly and quickly on the early childhood development front, which is also handled by this department. We said we wanted to focus on the ages zero to three. The Minister chose to focus on junior kindergarten, so he developed a lot of support for that, and we saw the potential for it. It wasn’t that we disagreed with it. We had different priorities, but we went with the Minister’s priority, but with the important recognition that all of the research shows...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Lands. According to Section 6.5 of the Devolution Agreement, the GNWT assumes overall liability for the operating sites listed in Schedule 7, Part A.1 of the Final Devolution Agreement.

Could the Premier please provide the following information for each of the 13 sites listed:

amount of financial security currently held by the federal or territorial government;

the form of that security, e.g. irrevocable letter of credit;

the authority under which each security amount is held;

the expiry date of each security instrument;

the amount...

I said we’ll be tabling this document and it’s got the Minister’s senior official’s signature on it. ECE has failed to increase the departmental budget over the last few years to the extent that they have not even met the increase in the CPI, the Consumer Price Index. That says something, but now that we do have full information here, even though the Minister cannot seem to put the numbers together and out in words here today, we do have full information.

Will the Minister finally give serious consideration to address the real budget issues that have become clear? That is, the Minister’s...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Returning to the topic at hand, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment made statements in the House yesterday, which despite bemoaning the lack of facts, fell far short of the full truth on school board funding and junior kindergarten. Because of those omissions, the statements were very misleading and unhelpful. The Minister presented, again, only some of the facts, those recognizing budget increases demanded by the Education Act to meet legislated PTR rations, but he ignored the net impacts of his total funding plans which yield substantial and cumulative...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I realize the Member is on the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures and was present during the rather extensive discussion we had on this, which we’re hearing again today. The CEO assured committee members that every community does have an accredited financial institution that would qualify. This includes co-operatives and Northern Stores. It’s recognized that not every transaction will be on the record of a financial institution. I suspect that’s true for all of us here today, but every receipt of dollars and every expenditure must certainly be accounted for and...

With this activity and fresh greens on the table, I’m really getting in the mood for summer, and I bet you are too. I’d like to wish you, my colleagues and staff and all of your families the very best for a safe, fun and restorative summer. I’d like to say that for all the people of the Northwest Territories as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the definition of elections advertising in Section 237 of the Elections and Plebiscites Act be clarified as proposed by the Chief Electoral Officer on page 13 of his auxiliary report. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that Sections 104 and 299 of the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to prohibit election advertising on polling day and the day prior.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to prohibit candidates from vouching for another elector.