Brendan Bell

Mr. Speaker, thank you and thank you to the Member for the question. Obviously, we are concerned about leakage from the economy. I have had a number of discussions with the chambers of commerce around the Northwest Territories. As the Members opposite know, we had a proposal we were taking to some stakeholders with regard to the elimination of the BIP and the reduction of corporate taxes. There are a number of goals here that we had set with the interest of becoming more and more competitive. We have recognized, Mr. Speaker, if we're going to develop macroeconomic policy and do it in a way...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The boiler will be installed and operational, we believe, by April 1st. Then we will test it and we will know much more then. Obviously there are a number of institutional around the North, not only in our departments but in others. I know the folks at Public Works are very excited about testing this technology. I think if it’s successful and saves us money, it’s certainly something we will consider across our other facilities.

Mr. Speaker, if there are people in any of the regions that are putting together business plans, have initiatives that would look at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the facility was originally conceived and constructed, the plans called for three oil-fired boilers. We only installed two at that time and there’s been a need for a backup since. In order to address this, we’ve been working with Public Works and we came up with a cost estimate of $225,000, which was in the capital plan. We found another way around that, Mr. Speaker, and that was to enter into a contract with Arctic Green Energy and to provide heat to the facility using a wood pellet boiler system. So we’re testing this out. It is a bit of a pilot. It’s not...

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly acknowledge that children are best served by having both parents in the home, having access and contact with both parents. Ideally that’s what we strive for and our legislation should allow for that, Mr. Speaker. Certainly at my earliest opportunity, when I sit down with my colleagues from across the country, I will talk about the need for our legislation to uphold those principles. Obviously we all believe that the best needs of…the best interests of the children have to come first and children should, obviously, have as much contact with both parents as long as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, let me wish fathers across the Northwest Territories and in this House Happy Father’s Day. I appreciate a couple of very heart-warming statements from Members today on that. That was very nice.

Mr. Speaker, yes, obviously last resort in these very difficult situations deciding on a parenting arrangement after a marriage has broken up, the last resort should be the court system. We are very concerned about it. As the Member pointed out in his statement, when these dealings end up being overly litigious and very confrontational and long and drawn out, it is...

Mr. Speaker, it’s a good suggestion and potentially if somebody out there is interested in entering into this business, wanted to provide wood pellets and could do it in a cost effective manner, obviously we’d be very interested in looking at that. I assume you’re talking about the pellets as opposed to the construction of the boilers, yes. So, Mr. Speaker, if such a supply is available in the NWT, we’ll certainly consider it. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have to admit that I am not sure what the contract award was for. I am not sure if it was a tender for space in one of our communities, but I will endeavour to find out and get the information to the Member before the day is out. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I haven’t discussed this specific issue with the Minister. I have met with him the one time in Ottawa to talk about a couple of issues and to agree that we needed to sit down and talk about a number of different things and a number of different files more comprehensively. But my officials at a senior official level are involved across the provinces and territories at a working group level. We have something called a coordinating committee of senior officials on family law, which meets frequently to discuss issues, projects, legislative changes. So I know that this is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will approach it on a business case basis. Obviously it’s the BDIC that would have to make a determination or decision as to whether or not they are prepared to make an investment into a new subsidiary. Since it was rolled up or closed some time ago, I am not sure of the condition of the assets anymore. I am not sure what the investment or the requirement would be, but I would say that I know the community is very proud of their history and their ability in the field in print making. I have seen a number of the prints on my last visit to Holman. In fact, I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Premier has spoken about the potential of the Northwest Territories to develop more of its energy resources in response to rising energy costs faced by our residents.

Looking forward, it is critical that our territory has a coordinated and comprehensive approach to the development, management and use of energy resources in the NWT.

At the appropriate time today, I will be tabling an energy discussion paper titled “Energy for the Future.” This discussion paper was jointly prepared by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and also the...