Bob Bromley

Thank you. This is the first I have heard that Apple was not able to supply iPads, but that’s interesting to hear.

I understand that 300 iPads were purchased. Were they distributed, and if not, why not?

So, could an employee that just stayed for a short time get a whole year’s benefit? Thank you.

No, thank you, Mr. Chair. There are lots of comments that deserve a reply on that response, but I’ll hold off on those. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To provide for the transitional allowances for eligible devolved employees, could I just have a brief explanation of what that is? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a couple of quick follow-ups there, perhaps one on that same issue of the $179,000 for electricity costs.

I know we moved all our utilities into Public Works and Services so that we could identify opportunities for efficiencies and ways to keep those costs down. Am I understanding here that we haven’t figured that out yet? I don’t know what our total budget is for electricity, but an increase of $179,000, that’s sort of level-eyed look for deficiencies based on this move into Public Works and Services where one hand can be on the pulse and figure out where the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think we are embarking on a program here that has been demonstrated to have serious reservations based on actual research and data. I presented some of it today. I know our research folks have done a lot more that’s available for anybody to look at. I’m happy to provide it. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. In contrast, there is a very useful way to spend this money and all the additional money that will go along with this and staff time for delivering early childhood development, and I’ll remind everybody, all my colleagues again, that we’re talking about delivery of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear an answer, not unusual for this Premier. Given that many departments have new roles and responsibilities under devolution and given the fundamental roles that energy plays in all aspects of life in the NWT and given the commitment and focus in the NWT Energy Strategy on renewable energy, would the Premier commit to reporting back on the possibility of a new office of energy outside of departments with a mandate to actually build, not just study, an environmentally sustainable, affordable and efficient renewable energy system for all sectors of NWT society...

I hope the Minister will provide that information soon. Again, the Minister is very naïve on this. Perhaps he has not had enough screen time and seen the commercials on TV with the little rocking devices for those babies with an iPad frame in it so you can just set in the iPad, so you can go and have a coffee or go and visit your neighbour. This stuff is a dime a dozen. The corporations are taking advantage of this. I’m not saying in response to Mr. Miltenberger’s rather flippant remarks that all corporations are bad, that we’re supposed to assume all corporations are bad and so on, I think...

My conclusion is that it is actually a result of both poor planning and an overly ambitious vision.

With all these feasibility studies, many of which indicate things are economic to do, will the Premier work with other responsible Ministers to redirect GNWT’s new energy initiatives to realistic hydro developments that could actually produce a facility on the ground in the next five years? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Minister’s information. Basically I have two concerns here that I would like to address. The first is the use of iPads for early childhood development and putting them into the homes of our smallest and youngest and most vulnerable minds and the almost certain use of those iPads by these wee children, and the second is the effective branding on these children who will certainly be accessing these pieces of equipment in contrast to what we know is a very effective way to communicate with families on a personalized basis.

First, just to the impacts of screen...