Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just today I got an e-mail message from an MLA who said a constituent of theirs who is disabled and has lived in another jurisdiction commented to them that ours is probably the best system in Canada for disabled people, in terms of supports.

I think we need to be careful not to say that people with challenges, whether they are physical or intellectual, all want to be treated differently. I think a lot of people feel that they are able to participate and want to be treated like others, so each person is an individual. We have people who you might call severely disabled...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps I will just deal with the Member's last question first, where he is talking about the $700,000. Just so that he doesn’t think that I manage to keep any of it between my front and my back pocket, that money is all going to Alberta. That is what they are charging us to use their Alberta achievement tests, which is the test that we are using in grades 3, 6 and 9. They have started charging us now for using their Grade 12 tests. Not one penny of those dollars is sticking in my pockets, with this Assembly passing it on to Alberta. Just so you know.

In terms of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The GNWT will contribute a minimum of $1.5 million each year, for the next four years, to meet our partnership requirements. That money includes both mining and oil and gas. So that’s the total each year for mining and oil and gas.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We could certainly work on finding that information. This is very similar to the written question submitted by Mr. Villeneuve. He asked for some of the exact same information and some more detailed questions as well. So we are working on putting that together. All of the information will be provided to the House relatively soon.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We haven’t gotten to that point yet because we aren’t sure, as I said, how much money there’s going to be. When we have that announcement and the provincial, territorial and federal Ministers meet shortly after the budget next week to decide how the money will be apportioned, then we will very quickly move to determine the NWT apportionment. Just as the Northwest Territories is fighting for a portion that is not representative of strictly per capita, we will remember that when we talk about how to spend the money in the Northwest Territories as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, we haven’t done anything to plan for how this money would be spent because we don’t know if we are talking about less than $1 million or $6 million. That’s the range we are talking about. It could be a very small amount of money or it could be $6 million. If we are successful in getting the larger amount of money, obviously we will have to have some process for setting out the expenditure. If we are only going to be offered a few hundred thousand dollars, we are going to have to question if we will even bother to participate because of the reporting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department would be willing to consult with people in Inuvik. That’s one of the purposes why the steering committee was set up -- the one that includes the town, the DEA, the DEC and so on -- was to make sure that the structure that is built is reflective of what the community wants. There may need to be some partnerships developed though in order to pay for some spaces that wouldn’t normally qualify for government support, but we’re always willing to look for those partnerships and find ways to accommodate community needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, February 21st, we will celebrate

Heritage Day. This is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the diversity of heritage and culture that all Canadians enjoy. In the NWT, we are especially blessed with an exciting history and a strong sense of heritage.

While our communities and residents have many opportunities every year to celebrate culture and heritage, today I would like to recognize a number of community-based projects in the Northwest Territories that are part of a national program called the Historical Places Initiative. Under this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am hoping we are going to get enough money that we are going to be able to make sure we can make a difference in communities like Jean Marie River. I am confident that the other jurisdictions across Canada will recognize the problems we face in the North in delivering programs equitable with what other Canadians receive. I am confident the federal Minister and provincial Ministers will say Canada doesn’t stop at the 60th parallel and we will see enough money to make a difference, but, until we actually do in the federal budget next week, we haven’t set up a process...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At our meeting last Friday, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to demonstrate to other Ministers around the table some of the problems that we face in the Northwest Territories trying to deliver equitable services in the smaller communities, particularly the higher cost of infrastructure, the higher cost of trained staff and the difficulty of finding a way to do it in very small communities. I used that as justification for why the Northwest Territories and the other territories needed to have base funding as part of this transfer because if we only get...