Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the last time there was a differentiation between the type of gasoline for transportation versus agriculture or fishing, I recall many years ago it was referred to as purple gas. It was used in equipment outside of transportation. We, as the GNWT, hadn’t put that in place. We could look at options of doing that. We would recognize a certain amount of lost income. The problem I think that becomes bigger is the administration of something like that. How it would work is something that we would have to work around, as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would have to agree with the Member on putting more resources where programs are working. As an Assembly, we are going to have to go through the exercise of coming up with some of those key priorities and then try to find the funding to put into those areas, but we are going to have to look at how we do that. There are going to be challenges across the board. We are going to have to reallocate internally, as well. We need to have that discussion. As I committed, we will do that through our business planning process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let’s be clear here. The message has gone out, the public’s aware of it. So what censorship happened? The question was asked when this was sent, is this the appropriate avenue to be using this Messenger service that’s available to just GNWT employees? It’s not available to anybody else out there unless you’re a Government of the Northwest Territories employee and you can tap into this. We do have a policy in that area and I’d be prepared to share that with Members and see where that goes. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we will do our job to try to get to every community in the Northwest Territories, and I am prepared to meet with the Member and his community on this issue. It has been a longstanding one. We have arranged, for example, transportation at times if the Housing Corporation or a number of departments have projects. They arrange for a larger source. At times the winter road is built into that area and gravel hauled out. As a government, we are going to have a discussion on the overall package of what we bring forward and those initiatives and priorities....

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand this did go out yesterday. It may be on the Legislative Assembly website. Is the question it didn’t go out through the Messenger which goes to every employee’s e-mail? Is that the question? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the lead Minister on the Building Canada Fund has prepared the information for Members and had discussions with them, we’re going to work with our existing arrangement that we have in place. For example, right now the federal government is looking for an announcement, an assignment of a framework that would highlight the first project or two that we’d be prepared to move on, meeting their criteria. We would then, because the money is a seven-year funding agreement, sit down with Members and, as highlighted, we’re intending to go forward with an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is referencing leveraged areas. Is that debt that we would have on our books through a number of other corporations? We put all of our information together that would impact our fiscal framework. We will put all of the pieces together and be prepared to share that with Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What we’ve done to date is work with the federal government on a framework agreement, as Minister McLeod has stated, and working with their criteria, requested departments to look at the plans that we have in place -- that is the 2007-2008 infrastructure plan -- and see what we can work with in looking at our existing financial situation. It has a role in that. We’ve done that work and we’re prepared to work with the federal government in coming up with a couple of key initiatives early on and then work through our normal business planning process. So is there a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we could work at putting that together. That shouldn’t be a problem. One of the things I think we need to look at as an Assembly before we look at a number of situations, I hope that we would set our priorities first and then look at the fiscal environment that we would have to operate in and take those steps. If we go down a path that becomes strictly about numbers, we may not look at opportunities for restructuring or refocusing of how we operate as a government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d be willing to look at doing that as we do from time to time. For example, if the Assembly highlights energy as a key piece -- we used to have that -- we can look at doing something of that nature, as well. As I said, I’m prepared to work as a committee, subcommittee structure to Cabinet on this issue, as well. Thank you.