Joe Handley

Mr. Speaker, yes, I have spoken to Mr. Zoe about these kinds of incidences. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, whether I am Premier or not is a decision the House has to make here. If they are not satisfied with the actions that I take and the decisions that I make, the judgements I make, then it’s up to the House to make that decision. Mr. Speaker, if there were to be another incident like this, then let’s deal with it at that point. I have made it very clear what my position is as I have no tolerance at all for anything further. Mr. Zoe has told me that he is taking steps. He has told the Members in this House in other discussions that he is seeking help. I can’t get into exactly what...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Zoe’s mandate and portfolio is…With him certainly I have considered it, certainly I will consider it in the future. If anything like this ever happens again, not just with Mr. Zoe but with all of Cabinet, I have looked at this one very seriously, I have followed up with the Legion. Mr. Zoe has as well, apologized; the Legion has given me a letter indicating that they have accepted the apology. Today Mr. Zoe stood up and made an apology to all of us and to the public, and has indicated that this will not happen again. I assure the Members again that if there is...

Mr. Speaker, for all of us who take responsibility for public office we, whether we are MLAs or Cabinet Ministers or Premier, are on the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and I think during the last few days that lesson has certainly come home to all of us, that we do not have a period on any day where we can just sort of opt out into a private life. That doesn’t happen in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the incident that occurred is certainly being viewed as one that we take seriously. I can let the Member know that upon hearing about it, I did call the Legion, I did talk with Mr. Zoe, I sent a letter to all of the Members advising them of the incident, and I have also spoken to many of the Members about this particular incident. Mr. Speaker, the incident is serious, and it is one that I certainly view as one that we don’t want to see happening, whether it is MLAs or Ministers. I can assure the Member that I have also included in the mandate letters to all of the Ministers...

Mr. Speaker, the comments, as they were relayed to me, were comments that were found to be offensive. They were comments made against people who come from Newfoundland, and people were offended. They relayed that to the management. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve asked the same question. First of all, what is the rationale for half of one’s lifetime in order to qualify under the affirmative action policy, and I am also asking whether this is any inconsistency or possible violation of our other legislation. But, Mr. Speaker, at this time I don’t know the rationale that was used at the time this was established. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I am at a bit of a loss as to what it is the Member wants us to say. What is the magic word? Mr. Zoe has told me that he has taken steps to ensure that this does not happen again. The details of those steps are very personal to Mr. Zoe. If Members want to know more, then I encourage them to talk to Mr. Zoe, but I am comforted to take Mr. Zoe at his word that he is taking steps. If he does not follow through on that, then he knows what the consequences are. I have told the House earlier today what those are. All I can say, if you want to talk about this, which to me is a very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the Committee of the Whole's review of the 2004-05 main estimates it was recommended that the GNWT publicly respond to the Auditor General's Report on Land Claims Implementation.

The Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs has completed a comprehensive review of the Auditor General's report and the observations and recommendations contained within it.

The main points of the Auditor General's report are: (1) Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development must manage federal responsibilities in a way that achieves results: (2) there needs to be a focus by the federal...

Mr. Speaker, that is certainly something that has crossed my mind. I have told Mr. Zoe that I believe he is a very good Minister in carrying out his job. He has other difficulties to deal with and I will be there to provide all of the support I can to help him overcome those difficulties. If it means that he is going to be away, if it came to that, then certainly I would support that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.