Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak about the lack of attention to Highway No. 7 once again. As you know, the Inuvik-Tuk highway is a major item of business for the 17th Legislative Assembly. The federal government has told Canadians this project will fulfill the dream of uniting our country from coast to coast to coast. It has a budget of about $150 million over five years for this project. The GNWT will also spend a share on this highway, but the final costs and economic benefits continue to remain unknown.

Meanwhile, the Liard Highway, Highway No. 7, doesn’t seem to be...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We are hearing a lot in the news lately about the possible changes to the Canadian Old Age Security Program. The current government is not saying much about it, but the responsible Minister, Diane Finley, says changes are crucial because costs are rising and there will be fewer and fewer workers paying into the system.

One of the suggestions for cutting the cost of oId age security is to change the age of eligibility for benefits from 65 to 67. Those same seniors, at least those with low incomes, would not be receiving their federally guaranteed income...

Thank you very much there, Mr. Speaker. Just, once again, the financial aspects will be huge for our government. What is this government doing to make sure that we have money to take care of our seniors in the future? Thank you.

I would like to know what is the likely cost impact on our government of the changes to the old age security system. Has the Minister taken the time to assess what the changes will really mean financially to our system? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up on my Member’s statement on the federal government revisiting the Canada old age security and reforming it. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about what is the Minister and our government doing today to protect the NWT seniors from any negative impacts resulting from the federal changes to the old age security system. Thank you.

I think the real impact is that the rest of Canada, they do have, the seniors have the ability to continue working if they wish, and I think that was one of the biggest concerns of the federal government. However, in our remote and small communities, seniors don’t have that option, yet they will be impacted the same. So they’ll have to wait an additional two years is the concern. I’d like to ask the Minister if he will raise this aspect with the federal government that once again our needs in the North are unique.

I would like to know, has our government made any contact recently to make sure that we have some input at the federal level. I would like to know what changes are likely to be needed in our own support of seniors when the federal government changes the old age security rules. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What’s critical here is that if the Finance Minister is going to mention four or five projects and then not mention Highway No. 7, is that when and if we do get some debt relief that it’s not going to make this list. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation once again, will he push and will he get his Cabinet colleagues to ensure that Highway No. 7 funding infrastructure will be done, should we have the opportunity. Mahsi cho.

I’d like to highlight it as a priority of this government. I think far before we invest in the fibre optic line, we should invest in Highway No. 7. I don’t believe that the Finance Minister, I don’t know if they made a mistake, but he should be mentioning Highway No. 7 as a priority. Should we run into some additional funding or we relieve our debt limit, I believe that Highway No. 7 should be critical enough that it should make this initial list of investment, should we have the opportunity. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation if he can work with his Cabinet colleagues, work with...

I just want to make a note that I’ve been speaking with Mr. Wilbert Antoine. He also indicates that Canadian Zinc received environmental approval from the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. I just wanted to say to all the youth and young people out there, and those looking for careers in the mining sector, that there’s a huge potential in and around Fort Simpson in future years and we can look to the example of Mr. Wilbert Antoine, who had a successful career. This is an important sector that can be looked at for a long-time career.