Bob McLeod

Yellowknife South

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Mr. Speaker, the Public Utilities Board is an arm’s-length board from the Government of the Northwest Territories. As the Minister Responsible for the PUB, I can appoint board members to the board, but I don’t sign off on any decisions the board makes.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Part of the review that is being undertaken…. My expectation is that we would come up with options which would entertain exactly what the Member is putting forward. And that would be one of the options that we would look at.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

I think it’s important for the public to understand the role the Public Utilities Board plays. The board reviews all applications for rate increases by a regulated power body. If the Public Utilities Board were not there, there would be no opportunity for review and for input by the public, and by affected sectors, to examine rates that have been put forward by utilities and corporations. Over the years the Public Utilities Board decisions have probably resulted in savings to the average consumer of a significant amount.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of people I would like to recognize. First of all, I’d like to recognize Mr. Ed Jeske, a long-time Yellowknifer and hockey enthusiast; Mrs. Vivian Squires from Avens Centre; Mr. Todd Parsons, the president of the Union of Northern Workers; Lydia Bardak, a Yellowknife city councillor; Paul Reddy; and Dave Matheson.

Debates of , (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have had that issue clarified in the past and have discussed it before. We are quite prepared to discuss it in light of the Auditor General’s recommendations. Certainly I’m not looking at renegotiating the land claims agreement, but certainly we’ll clarify the arrangements. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to point out that the MOU and contracting wasn’t set up as a requirement of the land claim, but it was set up as a policy decision by this government. Having said that, we are prepared to include those recommendations by the Auditor General and include it in the evaluation.

Debates of , (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll have discussions with my colleague and I’m sure I can get him to offer to come to Hay River and make a presentation to the Territorial Farmers’ Association as to exactly what process would have to be followed to do exactly what the Minister is requesting. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think, as one of your constituents has said previously, we don’t see agriculture as being a dirty four letter word. I’ve always been a supporter of agriculture. In the small communities there has always been agriculture and it’s one way to reduce import replacement. Everybody needs food and if you can grow your own food, it’s something that will help reduce the cost of living. Over the years, this government has undertaken a number of initiatives to support agriculture and as we go through our priority setting exercise, I would hope that we would be able to...

Debates of , (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that the whistleblower initiative is geared to a much broader application whereby if individuals or employees see situations occurring which they feel is improper or that they can report on it. I think in this instance we are talking about specific situations on the job. In those cases, I would like to reassure the Member that we take them very seriously. The individuals in question, the information they provide, will be respected and their privacy will be accommodated. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. The government has a workplace conflict resolution policy. That outlines how we would deal with those toxic environment situations that he described. Generally we depend on our management and the employees in question to report on those types of situations. We take them very seriously because the safety of our employees is our first priority. If we do become aware of any such situation, we take immediate action in a variety of different ways. If we feel that there is an immediate danger, we will take steps to remove the...