Statements in Debates
Minister Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my 13 years here this item has been on the agenda for every Legislature I’ve been a part of and has always been. We’ve had committees; we’ve had special committees. This thing has been worked over probably more than most public items in the Legislature. So I’d just like to ask the Minister if, before we take too many giant steps, we can maybe revisit some of that information, some of those reports, and see what those recommendations are before we make any major expenditures or capital investments going off into another area. I’d just like to ask the Minister that...
General comments? Do we agree we move to detail?
Mr. Speaker, I think that whether tinkering with it or making major changes, we have to know what our footing is when making these changes. If there are some legal implications by making these minor changes, is that going to be perceived as an overhaul of an existing preferential policy that’s in place in the NWT? So again, have you got a legal opinion from Justice in regard to these changes, and is there a possibility we may be watering down our rights that we have by way of preferential treatment under NAFTA?
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Welcome, witnesses. General comments. Mr. Hawkins.
I’d like to recognize a former resident of the Northwest Territories, Denise Lockett, who is here in the gallery with a bright orange jacket up there. You can’t miss her. Welcome, Denise.
I’d like to call the committee back to order.
Mr. Speaker, also in regard to the Premier’s comments or statement he made in reference to the new west, I know that there’s an initiative going on where all the western Premiers are talking about going down to the States to lobby in different areas. I’m wondering: are we part of that delegation which would be going down to the United States to lobby in regard to the western Premiers?
Another issue we have is that with a lot of these individuals the government pays for them to travel home from the larger centres. They’ll pay someone who is homeless in Yellowknife to get back to their home community. Under your existing policy you have to be a resident for three months, but the government is the one that moves these people back to their home community in which they were homeless to begin with. So once they get back to the community, there’s no way that these individuals can be provided housing because of the residency clause.
Have you looked at the residency clause for...
The Minister Responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Miltenberger.