Joe Handley

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, the $420,000 is up from $370,000. That’s a whole number of items. Contract services include our auto, office space lease, the Northern Strategy development, $125,000; Bear Facts newsletter, $22,000; NewsLine services, $24,000; trademarks and copyrights, $30,000; ethics counsellor, $30,000; equipment leases, $30,000; recycling and waste paper management, $9,000; and, miscellaneous as needed and when needed services, $88,000. Mr. Chairman, the $50,000 difference is made up from a number of small increases in all a variety of contractor services we do. I don’t have the specific one...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree that the elders have to have an opportunity for input into it and I hope each of us as MLAs do make a point of talking with the seniors, with the elders within our constituencies. That’s one way of doing it. Now, Mr. Speaker, I’m certainly open to considering any kind of proposals that Members may have, the public may have, and seniors themselves may have in terms of how they may be involved. In saying that though, we have to keep in mind the costs of doing it and make sure that we’re doing it in a way not just for seniors, but for everybody’s input in a way...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The communications is one of those tasks that has sort of a never-ending potential, never-ending shortfalls. No matter how much we do, there’s always some that we miss somehow. We just don’t quite get to doing it all. In light of the restraint that was exercised when we developed this business plan and this budget, we maintained ourselves with just the three positions in corporate communications and protocol. There is the director of that section or assistant secretary responsible for communications protocol, one communications specialist and a protocol officer who...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we put the strategy together -- and that’s our objective is to have a completed strategy for this year -- then we want to take it out for consultation. I would like to get input from a lot of the seniors about what we should be doing as a government, rather than me trying to decide what’s good for them. So I look forward to the consultation on the strategy, starting with the Circle of Northern Leaders and then branching out from there, and I welcome suggestions that seniors and others may have. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, no, it doesn’t include the Tlicho. The Tlicho money would begin to flow August 4th during the coming into effect date. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, the $313,000 is the amount they give us and we’re managing within that amount. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, the money that I referred to in the opening remarks, the $313,000, is money that is flowed to us from the Government of Canada to fund three positions for implementing the Inuvialuit, Gwich’in and Sahtu land claim agreements. So that is federal money. But in terms of implementing the agreements, we also, as a government, spend a considerable amount of money implementing all of the articles in the agreements that are within our mandate. For example, in forestry or wildlife we contribute substantially through the various departments, not through this department. Thank you.

I, too, on behalf of myself personally, my family, the people of Weledeh and the people of the Northwest Territories, want to express my condolences to the families and colleagues across Canada to the officers who were killed on duty. I want, Mr. Speaker, though to go beyond that and make a statement on something because I think it is important. These officers want us to carry on with the good things that go on in this world and make it a better place to live and to be.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this occasion to switch a little bit here and say that I want to wish a person a happy birthday...