Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to report that the Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development has reviewed Bill 16, Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation Act, and wishes to report that Bill 16 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole, as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So this is the utilization then of these resources in terms of our infrastructure. Is there any criteria applied to people applying in terms of what the course material contains? Is there any criteria an applicant has to meet in order to offer these courses through the Aurora College? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I notice with interest an advertisement in the paper. I will direct my question to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. There is a course offering at Aurora College for people to learn how to read palms. It’s called Palmistry. Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of demands on our education dollars and the needs of northerners in terms of education. I am not sure exactly what is involved in this course. It outlines the course in the paper. It talked about reading the lines on your hands to figure out how long you are going to live and what your...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and at the same time thank the Hay River South Pages for the excellent job they have done serving the House and the Legislative Assembly.

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My Pages are Kevin Storoz who is a Grade 9 student at Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River and Michael Morgan who is a Grade 8 student at Diamond Jenness Secondary School. Also, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Mikey’s mom, Wendy Morgan, who is in the visitor’s gallery today. Wendy is celebrating five years in my office, not so important as the fact that she just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister commit to taking a look at this territorial power support program, perhaps even working with Members on this side of the House to address this? I think it’s very timely right now, I think it’s fairly safe to say that there are going to be some price riders coming into effect, and I think particularly we need to address the business support. I think that the cost of running a business in small communities is hindering economic development and I see this as a good solution. Will the Minister commit to coming forward with a process and a plan to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Territorial Power Support Program, as well, because the rate is already set, the consumption of subsidized power is set at 700 and 1,000, as I previously mentioned. Anything exceeding that is going to, if the rate for power goes up, impact residents and businesses quite significantly. I’m wondering if the Minister has given any contemplation to how we might address that. Has the Territorial Power Support Program been reviewed lately to find out if those are realistic levels; 700 and 1,000? When was the last time the Territorial Power...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last government and again recently there have been concerns raised about the cost of power in communities served by diesel generators. This is particularly of concern at this time because of the unprecedented high price of crude oil and the volatility of supply issues. I would like to see this government look at two things: first of all, a proactive and immediate response to anticipated riders in diesel communities. These communities need to be protected where the costs of other essential goods and services are already higher than other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to the motion today, as well. Mr. Speaker, I’m going to take a slightly different approach to this. I think everything we are talking about here today in this debate has to do with treating the symptoms of a much larger issue. I don’t stand or sit in judgment of anybody who finds themselves addicted to drugs of any kind. Mr. Speaker, when we talk about treatment and we talk about wholeness and we talk about wellness of our people, we as a government take some great amount of pride in always avoiding the subject of spirituality. We...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I think it would be a very good time to do a review of that. I don’t think that the territorial power support program is adequate when it comes to the support for small business. We hear this from the small communities and, of course, this always precipitates discussion about a single-rate zone. Mr. Speaker, I have my own thoughts as to whether or not applying a single-rate zone is the solution to this problem. I think that there are other things that could be done. The one gap I recognize is with the small business support. Could the Minister please indicate what...