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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The new public housing rent scales came into effect July 1, 2012, and largely at the call of all the Members of this House to have a system that was much fairer and treated all of our residents in housing more equitably. At that time the decision was made that to be fair, all sources of income would be included in the calculation, and to change from that would mean we’re going back to the old rental scale approach, back to a shotgun approach where all different types of support were exempted. So that’s why the new public housing rental scales were drawn up so that it...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable David Ramsay will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Robert C. McLeod will be absent from the House today to attend a meeting with the Arctic Winter Games International Committee and his territorial counterparts in Fairbanks, Alaska. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As a matter of fact, that is the very reason why we have a Reducing Red Tap Initiative that we’re doing through the Refocusing Government Cabinet committee. In most cases, these disaster funds, the only requirement is that they be acts of God or natural disaster. For the Harvester Fund, you have to show that you have actually earned some revenue from hunting and trapping.

Thank you. We have committed to doing that and we’ll be doing exactly that when we convene in the fall. Thank you.

Thank you. I’m pleased to hear the Member offer that we should be looking at all positions, because that’s what in fact we will be doing. We will be looking at all the positions that we have with the Government of the Northwest Territories, and this government has committed to, and it is a priority of this government to see the decentralization, and committed to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning that we would work very closely with all of the Members as we go forward in implementing this priority. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to recognize the following visitors to the gallery, the Coalition Against Family Violence members Lorraine Phaneuf and Annemieke Mulders; Samantha Dechief with the Status of Women Council; Jo Sobool, Salvation Army; Jean Basil, Native Women’s Association; Lydia Bardak, John Howard Society; Mira Hall, Centre for Northern Families; David Wasylciw, Men for Change, Northwest Territories; and Gail Cyr, our women’s advisor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on June 21st we will celebrate National Aboriginal Day. This is an opportunity to celebrate Aboriginal people’s outstanding contributions to the history, languages, arts and cultures of our territory and Canada.

As my colleagues are aware, our celebration of this national holiday in the Northwest Territories is unique. In 2002, National Aboriginal Day was declared a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories. This year marks the 10th anniversary of that declaration. To this day, the Northwest Territories remains the only jurisdiction in Canada to recognize it as a statutory...