Jane Groenewegen

Is committee agreed?

That’s it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to suggest to the Premier that if this…I do know Mr. Gerein, with all due respect, and we don't want to take away from the good work that he's done here at all. I had honestly forgotten about him though; I haven't seen him for a long time. Mr. Speaker, we have appointed…On the energy file for example, we appointed a very high profile Conservative. I think Peter Lougheed did some work for our government on some previous file. It seems that when the federal government appoints somebody like Harvie Andre or David Petersen or somebody like...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a couple more questions for the Premier with regard to our theme day topic today -- resource revenue sharing -- and our efforts on behalf of that file. I would like to ask the Premier what other resources that he has at his disposal to affect some progress on this file. Last week when we talked about the distribution of workload in Cabinet, the Premier shared that he carries a very heavy workload and that his desk is seldom clear of items that need to be done. That being the case, combined with what he said today about this is his highest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the Premier says there are groups or areas or regions in the Northwest Territories that do not see this as a priority, my next question to the Premier would be then what can he do as the Premier to convene a dialogue or something that will create the awareness? I mean development is proceeding here. The incentive for Ottawa to deal with this is going to get less rather than more as the increased amount of revenue flowing to Ottawa proceeds. So can the Premier give us a commitment that he will convene a forum where a dialogue to create awareness amongst leaders...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Premier if, even though we are in this open public forum today, he could share with Members on this side of the House what would be a short list of the possible obstructions or obstacles to getting this deal done? What can we do collectively as northerners to advance this agenda? Thank you.

Whoa. Freudian slip. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to recognize the folks from the Yellowknife Inuit Association and also recognize Kathy Goudie. I just met her in Hull, Quebec, when we were at a women’s parliamentarian meeting and I’m pleased to announce that the first meeting of the parliamentarian women will be here in the Northwest Territories as an outreach to encourage more women to get into politics and leadership.

---Applause

Agreed. Then we will resume in a few minutes.

---SHORT RECESS

I'm going to call Committee of the Whole to order. What's the wish of the committee with the number of matters we have before us today? Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I'm not trying to be too prescriptive in terms of telling the Premier what he should do. I'd like to go to Ottawa myself on this file, but I'm a little busy right now. But it is so important and I'm glad to hear that the Premier is willing to dedicate resources to this. We have 4,500 people in our public service. We have money for a lot of things and I just want to see, if this is our highest priority, I want to see the resources and the effort that bears that out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.