Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member has pointed out, the Assembly of the Northwest Territories has in the past endorsed this, recognized that. We stand by that. Looking at the date and the time, we feel that is a commitment that still stands today. If Members would like to do something, we would be willing to sit down and have a discussion.

The Member is right in the sense that there’s been quite a bit of work done in the past governments and work with the federal government to identify positions that were in southern Canada, in Ottawa, that had a direct impact and relationship to the Northwest Territories and the three territories overall. We’ve done that work and it came down to identifying a number of positions that we felt could be moved north, and that initiative was pushed along.

I must say that this government hasn’t taken that information and moved it. Our focus has been the establishment of new positions and office that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for raising this concern. The work we’ve done on this comes in a number of layers. First and foremost we had a pan-territorial approach from the three northern Premiers as to making the pitch to Ottawa that the Northern Development Agency needs to be established in the North. Following that and putting that case in, I have worked directly with a number of the federal Ministers to highlight the fact that it makes sense, for a number of the reasons that the Member has raised, that we’re central amongst the territories, that our economic potential is the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Return to Written Question 6-16(3), I wish to table the following document entitled Federal Revenues from Non-Renewable Resources in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the alternative energy process we’ve engaged in is one through the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee and Members to look at these alternatives. In fact, we’ve done it so that it doesn’t affect the rates, at this time, of how we implement some of the new technologies into our systems. We have to engage with the Power Corp at that level to see how we would do a full implementation. Again, looking at not impacting the rates of individuals. So that work is to be done.

The review itself that’s happening, looking at the Power Corp, the internal process was one of how it operates...

Mr. Speaker, myself and the Minister, we get our mandate from this Assembly, our vision and goals. I must say, when these opportunities exist and there’s an invite, I will take that invite. As I have, for example, I was invited to the Akaitcho leaders to talk at a workshop. The first time a Premier of the Northwest Territories was invited. I took that opportunity because that directly aligns with some of the work we’re doing around regional leaders and so on. But with this group, yes, I had opportunity to address it shortly for a small amount of time when we had our Caucus meeting when we met...

Mr. Speaker, again, there is no organization. My involvement was through the Executive. As I told them there, there are no methods that I could bring from a Cabinet or the Assembly because we had not had that discussion. The area of involvement from other companies, I’m not sure if the other people who participated paid their own way to the meeting as well. I didn’t ask about that. I just ensured that from our part that it was as if there’s any discussion happening across the Northwest Territories around matters of what we could be or what our possibilities are, I’d like to be involved and I...

As I had said earlier, yes, I am prepared to sit down with Members. If it’s a polling, one on one, to sit down and find out where we can move on this area. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to engage Members to see where they’d like to see something done. Being that the day has passed, in the past we’ve recognized the day when we were in session. Again, the fact that previous Assemblies stood by this and, as the Member has pointed out, we’re the only Assembly who has done that, we stand by that. With the short days we do have, as the Member has highlighted, there are quite a number of messages that we have to get out, but I’d be prepared to engage Members to see if we make any adjustments to what we’re prepared to make statements on. Thank you.

We have worked quite well with our northern colleagues on a number of fronts. We’ve worked together on a Northern Strategy, trying to build a vision, trying to get the federal government to look at that vision. We, in fact, will have our next northern Premiers meeting in Iqaluit in early July. I will commit to work with them and put that on the agenda to have some further discussions and try to put some renewed energy in that area as well.