Brendan Bell

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons we like this project is because of the legacy it can create and, first and foremost, 50 or 100 year industry for people up and down the valley in terms of oil and gas exploration. There are logical infrastructure contributions we think can be made by the federal government. We’ve been advocating that for some time. Now what we do need to see from Imperial and the producers is some detailed breakdown on that costing. There's no sense for us advocating for roads that will have little or no impact on the project. We need to see this detail. They have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, the new costing came out and although we were expecting an increase in the price of this project, we were surprised by the magnitude of the increase: $16 billion. I think the suspected or the whisper number on the street had been, sort of, in the 10 to 12 range. So this is much higher than we had anticipated. We’ve been lobbying for some time; we do believe that there is a logical role for governments in assisting this project. We’ve never been advocating that there be subsidies paid to the producers; we don’t think that makes sense or is the role of...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Condominium Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would argue that what is good for this pipeline project and sees this pipeline project go ahead, eventually will be good for the Northwest Territories. It makes little sense for us to sit down with these three parties and argue for infrastructure contributions that have no bearing on whether or not this pipeline goes ahead. There’s a place for that and those are in discussions between our government and the federal government. There are a number of logical areas and we do that continually. However, if we’re talking about what can make this pipeline a reality, we...

Mr. Speaker, there are discussions, if not currently underway, they’re imminent between our officials, federal officials and the pipeline proponents to talk about the areas that government could support and assist this project, and I’ve just indicated some of the options that we favour. We need to see more detail from the producers in terms of their costing. \what does that $16 billion comprise? What types of infrastructure would help make this project price come down? We want to make sure that we’re advocating for areas that will have the most impact on the price of this project. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to draw Members’ attention to the RCMP change of command ceremony that will take place later today in the Great Hall.

Chief Superintendent Tom Middleton will be appointed as the 34th commanding officer of the RCMP “G” Division. He continues the excellent work of his predecessor, outgoing Commanding Officer Pat McCloskey. Chief Superintendent Middleton is a 30-year veteran of the RCMP and will provide leadership to officers across the NWT. He will have a critical role in strengthening RCMP relations with communities, government agencies and institutions as...

Sorry; just before we go, Mr. Chairman, I wanted to make the point on the record that we looked at a number of other jurisdictions. I talked about the best case scenario where we would have enough private bar lawyers doing this type of work. We did look at some other jurisdictions that have similar models. I was hoping that maybe Mr. Aitken could provide some insight into the draft of this legislation and which of the jurisdictions we looked at.

I would, thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I am not sure how the Law Society handled the consultation with their own membership. We brought it to their attention and presumably they took it to their membership. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, May 14, 2007, I will move that Bill 11, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2007, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.