David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s been over ten years now since diamonds were first processed at the Ekati mine, north of Yellowknife. After ten years I do believe it is time to review our policies, our objectives and the strategy as it pertains to diamonds.

It was just over three years ago that the Department of ITI gutted the diamond division within the department. It was a decision by the former government that that happened. Given what is at stake with the development of mines across this country in jurisdictions such as Saskatchewan, Ontario and potentially Quebec, I believe that we need to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s unfortunate that Cabinet is going to abstain from the vote today, but I thank my colleagues over here who are going to support this motion.

I have seen first-hand, for myself, the devastation noncustodial parents face. Their money might be good enough, but they aren’t, and in a country like Canada that is just not good enough. I know the Minister of Justice talks about the NWT Family Law having the best interests of the children at heart, and so does the federal Divorce Act. But if this was the case, why would there be a movement, not just in Canada but across the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS it is in the best interest of the child to have, wherever possible, both parents involved in the parenting of said child;

AND WHEREAS the current adversarial process pitting parent against parent with the child in the middle is promoted in legislation like the federal Divorce Act;

AND WHEREAS it would be desirous for the federal government to propose amendments to the federal Divorce Act so that in law and in practice the rights of both parents to due process are observed in all proceedings and that children benefit from equal parenting from their mothers and their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With other jurisdictions moving forward — and I mentioned Saskatchewan with Fort à la Corne and the Ontario Victor Diamond Project in northern Ontario — time is of the essence here. I don’t think we can wait another year before we develop a strategy and a plan and policies on where this government is going to go.

I’d like to ask the Minister: what is the strategy in terms of a timeline to address policy issues surrounding diamond mining in the Northwest Territories and the government’s role in that?

Mr. Speaker, my fear, again, is that we don’t have — and I know the previous government got rid of it — the Diamond Division at ITI. I’m not sure exactly why that happened. Here we are on the verge of other jurisdictions developing mines, and we need to review where we’re going with diamonds and with diamond mining in the Northwest Territories. Again, I don’t understand why we can’t get that 10 per cent and then divvy it up amongst local cut-and-polish plants here in Yellowknife, and we could also open up a diamond exchange.

Once you have the diamonds, people will come. There are examples of...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to welcome again all the visitors from Nunakput. It’s nice to see them in the crowd. I also would like to recognize my constituency assistant, Ms. Lynda Comerford. And with Lynda, visiting from Nova Scotia, is Ms. Vivian Schouteten. Welcome to Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move to report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to comment, if I could, on the suspending of driver’s licences for individuals who are in default of maintenance payments. The bill will pass, and it’ll go ahead, but I wanted to get my comments on record anyway. I do believe that even though individuals owe maintenance payments we shouldn’t be so heavy-handed as to suspend a driver’s licence, especially when in some cases that parent has access to their children and needs to pick them up, drive them to soccer, drive them to hockey, and it’s 40 below zero outside.

If somebody’s fallen on hard times, I think...

I think that, for individuals who find themselves in a position where they can’t pay maintenance and they’re receiving EI payments, there should be something in this legislation here in the Northwest Territories that protects those individuals. They’re on unemployment insurance; they’re not working. I’m not sure how they could sustain their household or what they have. What we’re going to do by garnisheeing unemployment insurance is drive people into the homeless shelter. I think what we need to do is come up with a clause in here that suggests that we’re not going to do that to people. I do...

Mr. Chairman. I have with me Mr. Ian Rennie from the Department of Justice and the Clerk of the Assembly, Mr. Tim Mercer, to my left.