Bob McLeod

When we get the information we can sit down and see how we can approach this. I believe with a majority government at this late stage it would be very difficult to change the course of events because it’s in front of Parliament and they’ll be voting on it.

Every Thursday the government service officers pay home visits to elders, providing assistance by interpreting, opening and explaining mail, and generally ensuring elders and others have better access to our programs and services as well as many services offered by our federal partners. Additionally, community residents can come into the Single Window Service Centre for assistance with filling out forms and applications on-line, through the use of the public computer. This electronic access has shortened response times and expedited the business of government at the community level.

Mr. Speaker...

This doesn’t affect devolution. This is a national initiative that is being put forward by the Government of Canada.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for his question. We have written a couple of times to the federal government with regard to the changes that we understood were proposed for fisheries. We have yet to receive a response. We have not been briefed on the provisions of the omnibus bill, although we did get briefed on the proposed changes to the MVRMA.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member recognizes that we’re dealing with a majority federal government and we are moving forward in what is in the best interests of all the people of the Northwest Territories.

We were not apprised of any changes to the Navigable Waters Act. We are now in the process of asking our departments to review the list to identify what the implications are for the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, last month I travelled to China with my colleague Mr. Robert Hawkins and business delegates from the Northwest Territories as part of the Council of the Federation Trade Mission. The business representatives from the Northwest Territories were Don Bubar, president and CEO of Avalon Rare Metals; Mark Downey, CEO of Fur Harvesters Auction Limited; Verda Law, the operations manager of Yellowknife Tours; Huizhong Yang representing Blachford Lake Lodge; and Yanny Cordero, project development consultant.

This mission was intended to secure trade and investment opportunities and we have...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome Members back to the continuation of the Third Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly. I hope everybody was able to enjoy some time with family and friends this summer and has come back rested and ready to continue working on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories. It has been almost one year since we took office. As we get started with this session, I would like to look back at some of the things we have accomplished together this past year.

Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has a vision of a strong and prosperous Northwest Territories that provides...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents, entitled Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 2-17(2), Old Age Security; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 3-17(3), Increased Support for Renewable Energy; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 9-17(3), Establishment of Independent Ombudsman’s Office; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to CR 4-17(3), Report on the Review of the Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The new rent scales that were introduced July 1, 2012, charge very low rent for low income households. If you make less than $1,677 a month, you pay $70 to $80 a month in rent. So I think that exempting Child Tax Benefit would have minimal impact on the rent that’s charged. Thank you.