Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve heard that it’s not the GNWT’s responsibility. The town is looking to this government for some assistance. It does impact our people. It does impact our industry, even if it is not technically our responsibility. Does this government have any money to help address this situation? I observed, with interest, the anticipation of the flooding of the Red River in Manitoba again, and I think technology has changed a bit since those old federal DPW dredges were out there.

There’s equipment, there’s people, there are contractors who are in this business. Like I said, I read...

Since this lack of dredging is impacting industry in Hay River, what role does the Minister see himself in in communicating with the federal government on this situation? Have meetings taken place? Has the Minister met with industry? Has he met with federal counterparts who may have a role to play in this and could help bring some resolve to the situation?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak about the issue of dredging in the Hay River.

Mr. Speaker, as you well know, Hay River has a long history as a transportation hub. Hay River is located where it is today due to the waterways that it sits on: the south shore of Great Slave Lake and at the mouth of the Hay River. Mr. Speaker, the federal government used to play a very large role and had a large presence in Hay River with their Public Works dredging operations, and then quite a number of years back they held a big auction sale. They sold all their barges, all their dredges, all...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I made reference to the Tamerlane Ventures venture at the old Pine Point site. I notice today -- I can’t find the page where the Finance Minister referenced it -- he talked about several different potential mining projects but he left Tamerlane off the list.

The Finance Minister also kept making reference to Taltson and the supply of power to the mines and power purchase agreements. I can’t even guess how much money the government has spent running down that road of trying to sell hydro to the diamond mines. The diamond mines have a limited...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is budget day in the Northwest Territories and I was interviewed by the media after the budget address and I said that, overall, I am pleased with the budget.

This budget will not see the same volume of investment in things like capital infrastructure that we have realized extraordinarily in the last few years, but I think the 16th Assembly will be remembered for carrying this Territory through a recession at the same time using those stimulus dollars and extraordinary capital investments to help ease the impact of the recession here in the Northwest Territories. I’m...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Hydro power went to Pine Point in the old Cominco days. Tamerlane’s site is so close to where the hydro went and where the road goes, it would seem that with all those kinds of proximity and access to services that this would kind of be a no-brainer in terms of this government lending some support to a project like this which has so much potential for a community like Hay River. As I said, we do appreciate the government infrastructure going in there, but let me tell you, with about 100 jobs on our doorstep right now, we could absorb vacant housing without any extra expansion. This one seems...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise in the House today and recognize a constituent of Hay River South, His Worship Mayor Kelly Schofield. Mayor Schofield and Deputy Mayor Mike Maher both arrived in Yellowknife this morning on the Buffalo flight, Mr. Schofield for the delivery of the budget statement and Mr. Maher for a different type of delivery: we congratulate him on the arrival of his daughter Brooke this morning.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. The committee’s wish today is to begin on general comments on the budget address.