David Ramsay

I see it much differently than the Member, obviously. I don’t see cannibalism. I see capacity building for an Aboriginal development corporation that is going to supply opportunities for jobs, training and development of the workforce there.

I believe that going forward, as I mentioned in response to the previous question, we will be tendering future roadwork in the Yellowknife area. Because this money is coming from the Giant Mine Remediation Funds, this is at the very doorstep of Chief Drygeese territory and nobody asked the Yellowknives Dene for 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were two other companies that had expressed interest and the Department of Transportation had written to both of those companies. I believe the Member was copied on both of those letters.

Yes, and I think again as things progress in the Sahtu, government has to realize that we’re going to have to look at capacity there. Not just in transportation but in business development and tourism and other things that are just going to be natural for us to be looking at should the population expand there, should the infrastructure expand there, and opportunities are there. We will have to certainly pay attention to that, and again, on the transportation and having an office in the Sahtu, that is something that we will consider.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As things progress in the Sahtu – and we’re very excited about the prospects that are there – it certainly is something I think that would be in the mix as we look at the opportunities that are there. It’s something that the government certainly should take into consideration and we will do just that.

Mr. Speaker, much like the Member’s press release, I don’t really understand the Member’s question. Thank you.

Certainly, I talked about the employment opportunities that came as a result of the $6 million negotiated contract between the government and Det’on Cho on the Detah access road. We have to identify further funds to allow that project to continue, and we will be continuing to look for further funding opportunities to continue the work on the Detah access road.

But specific to opportunities, I know Det’on Cho provided a great deal of training in partnership with Flemming College, and also with the Mine Training Society here in the NWT. The quarry was used for field training, drilling and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with you on the respectful dialogue that has to happen in this House, but if the Member is in one statement he uses terms like “sleight of hand, little respect for taxpayers, embarrassment, insult, shameful, back door, dismal and cannibal,” that makes it very difficult to have a respectful dialogue with a Member that is conducting himself like that.

Let’s just stick to the issue. The issue is we are negotiating a contract with Det’on Cho Corporation, the business arm of the Yellowknives Dene and Chief Drygeese territory.

Mr. Speaker, I take very seriously the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In answering the Member’s question, I think the Northwest Territories has come a long way when it comes to developing mines in our territory. We have resources like the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and certainly back in the 1930s, a property like Giant, the Aboriginal community at the time wouldn’t have access to impact benefit agreements. There was no such thing as a socio-economic agreement with the government of the day.

Nowadays, when we develop new mines in this territory, there are such items like IBAs and socio-economic agreements where Aboriginal...

My Cabinet colleagues are well aware of Highway No. 7. It’s a discussion that comes up time and time again. I have committed to the Member some time during this session that the Member and I will drive Highway No. 7. I want to get a look at it firsthand. I know it’s experienced a great deal of precipitation in the past week and I look forward to going with the Member to take a look at the highway. Certainly it will be a priority as we go forward.

Without the capital dollars to attach to it today, it’s hard for us to put it in a speech like we heard earlier today. Going forward, this government is going to try to identify capital dollars for Highway No. 7 and we can look forward to getting there through the business planning process that will take place later this coming year.