David Ramsay

Mr. Speaker, it doesn’t leave me with a great deal of confidence in our justice system if, when a woman in the Northwest Territories committed a very serious offence and was remanded, we would put her in a facility where she could escape out the window or she could walk out the front door. That’s what I heard the Minister say. That’s not good enough from a public safety standpoint.

In this case it’s a woman charged with a very serious offence. It’s lucky people didn’t die that night when that fire was set. Why is she remanded in a facility where she could walk out the door or climb out an...

Again, I think having individuals in remand for an extended period of time and in locations where they’re not secure…. If they can just walk out the door, that causes me a great deal of concern, and it should cause the public some concern. Why would an individual like this be remanded in a facility where she could basically walk out the door?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just had a couple more oral questions, if I could. Are you still on item 7, Mr. Speaker? If not, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7.

Unanimous consent granted.

What does the Department of Transportation base its safety inspection on? Is it tagged to another jurisdiction? How does that work? How they did arrive at what vehicle is safe and what vehicle isn’t safe on the road?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had a couple of questions today for the Minister of Transportation to get to the issue of right hand drive vehicles and their registration here in the Northwest Territories.

I do believe that rules have to be applied equally and fairly across the board when dealing with our residents. In a case that was brought to my attention over the summer, there was a vehicle purchased back in May of this year. It was taken to be registered at Motor Vehicles here in Yellowknife and was denied registration. It still hasn’t been registered to this date.

At that time, the Department of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Section 48(1) of the Human Rights Act provides for the establishment of an adjudication panel composed of at least three persons appointed by the Commissioner on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS the Board of Management has considered a number of qualified individuals for appointment and reappointment as adjudication panel members and the designation of an existing member as Chairperson;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that the following persons be recommended to the Commissioner of the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I think it’s important that the government keep its eye on what is happening around the world. Like I said earlier, the Bank of Canada is predicting that Canada is on the brink of a recession. I would hope that the government could at the earliest possibility brief Regular Members on where the government’s exposure is in terms of credit and commodity prices. It’s going to hit us. We’re not going to be immune to what’s going on. Will the Premier commit today to brief Regular Members on where the government’s exposure is on this?

The other thing that residents in the Northwest Territories are going to have a very difficult time with is the fact that the current General Rate Application is premised on the fact that oil and world oil prices were $130 and $140 a barrel. That’s not the reality today, Mr. Speaker. I think the government has to instruct that board to revisit the current General Rate Application so that residents in the Northwest Territories are not going to be faced with these high increases in cost this winter. It’s not too late to say no to that GRA or at least revisit it, because those numbers that were...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statements from earlier I was saying how increasingly difficult it is for residents and Members of this House to continue to stomach the bonuses that are paid to senior managers at the Power Corporation. Last year it was close to $600,000. Given the fact that rates are rising again, will the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, Minister Roland, instruct the board of the Power Corporation to immediately put a halt to the bonuses paid to senior staff?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s awfully hard for a resident in a small community to understand — that they’re paying more money today for mistakes or costs the Power Corporation incurred in the past. I think it has to be more forward looking, and I do believe that the current GRA that is in play right now needs to be revisited. It is premised on high oil prices and high utility costs today that just are not a reality. Can we open this up? Can the Minister instruct the board to revisit the GRA?