Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe the committee today would like to deal with Tabled Document 75–16(2), Supplementary Appropriation No. 2, 2008–2009. Time permitting, we would like to deal with the Premier’s sessional statement. But first we would like to do the supp. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have some questions about the Deh Cho Bridge. I’m not sure who’s handling that file now, whether it’s the Minister of Transportation or not. Having said that, there’s been quite a bit of progress made on the Deh Cho Bridge. I had occasion to drive to Yellowknife once this summer and saw the platform that was built out into the middle of the river from which the work is being conducted, and a significant amount of progress has taken place. However, it was communicated in a media article about a week ago that the bridge is about six weeks behind schedule and that this may have an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank Mr. Miltenberger for that explanation. I do concur with him that there were some almost statements of fact about these taxes having been a foregone conclusion on this side of the House today. So if you perceived that, I hear you; I did perceive that a little bit too.

They are only options at this time. But we want to get in there and tell you that any — or tell Mr. Speaker; I don’t want to speak directly to the Minister. But we would like to make sure that this government clearly understands that it would be the preference under the tax options to be taxing...

As my colleague Mr. Krutko said, the idea of a resource tax has been something that’s been out there for a long time. No government has had the courage to introduce it. I would like to ask Mr. Miltenberger, as the Finance Minister: is he aware of any downside to this government raising revenues through a resource tax?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are back. It is October 1, 2008. We are on the threshold of another northern winter. Something largely on the minds of almost every Northerner is the almost certain increase in the cost of living. News reports tell us that the cost of food is going up. Demand on a global basis exceeds supply, and prices will reflect these realities.

The price of crude oil is volatile, and we are vulnerable to economic issues far beyond the reach of our control. Home heating fuel and gasoline have seen record prices in recent weeks. In the North we are particularly affected, given our...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask Mr. Miltenberger which part of what he’s heard from the representatives of our constituents on this side of the House today could possibly, with regard to the tax options, be considered misleading? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance. The Minister has put out a revenue option paper. He has held a round table with representatives from many territorial organizations. I’d like to ask the Minister: from his discussions to date, what is the appetite like for a resource tax in the Northwest Territories that could address this gap in finances that they have been referring to? Will he be bringing forward a response to the resource tax? What’s the downside?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank Mr. Ramsay for bringing this motion forward. We’re talking about the best interests of children, and I believe that first and foremost the best interests of children are to be in a home, in a family, where they have parents who are in a committed and long-lasting relationship. However, we know this is not always possible.

When a relationship breaks down, then I think it does become incumbent upon the law and the lawmakers in the process to ensure that children are never used as a pawn or as a weapon of one against the other, because in those types of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would concur that with the P3 projects, whether it’s the Deh Cho Bridge or the Taltson Hydro Expansion or whatever it is we’re talking about, certainly our government has taken the majority of the risk. Therefore, I think we should be in a position to make up the rules. I’d like to ask the Premier if he would also agree to try and engage northern industry in any policy that’s developed, to ensure we have something very concrete when it comes to maximizing the benefits to Northerners through northern participation in any major capital infrastructure project.

Hand in hand with that concept, I think the Deh Cho Bridge project gave us clear evidence that we need something more solid in our policy about P3 projects than references in the Financial Administration Act, which would also cover the leasing of photocopiers. I’d like to ask the Premier: where are we at in developing a policy that would allow us to enter into P3 projects on a more solid footing?