Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the Nahendeh Fiddlers. They will be out in the Great Hall. I have Mr. Lewis Beck, Gerda Hazenberg, Stella Pellisey, and all the youngsters from Wrigley and Fort Simpson. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you very much there, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got some questions for the Minister of Transportation with regard to the ferry situation in the Nahendeh. Recently, our operations have been curtailed, particularly in Fort Simpson we’re running a 12-hour day as opposed to, like, an 18-hour day as it was last year. As well, there was a very late start in getting the Wrigley ferry operational. If it had happened to the one at Fort Providence it would have been completely unacceptable to Yellowknife residents. I say it is unacceptable to Nahendeh residents to have this kind of operations being...

Thank you very much there, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got some questions for the Minister of Transportation with regard to the ferry situation in the Nahendeh. Recently, our operations have been curtailed, particularly in Fort Simpson we’re running a 12-hour day as opposed to, like, an 18-hour day as it was last year. As well, there was a very late start in getting the Wrigley ferry operational. If it had happened to the one at Fort Providence it would have been completely unacceptable to Yellowknife residents. I say it is unacceptable to Nahendeh residents to have this kind of operations being...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, firstly I would like to welcome all the Members back to the Legislative Assembly for this spring session. Spring is here and the buzz is in the air in Nahendeh, and the buzz is not that spring came early, but it’s about the recent announcement the Premier made regarding $50 million for the extension of the highway along the Ingraham Trail. More and more I’m hearing it being referred to as Joe’s highway.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I’m not against infrastructure enhancement or expansion in other regions of the Northwest Territories. Regional and community...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, firstly I would like to welcome all the Members back to the Legislative Assembly for this spring session. Spring is here and the buzz is in the air in Nahendeh, and the buzz is not that spring came early, but it’s about the recent announcement the Premier made regarding $50 million for the extension of the highway along the Ingraham Trail. More and more I’m hearing it being referred to as Joe’s highway.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I’m not against infrastructure enhancement or expansion in other regions of the Northwest Territories. Regional and community...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee wishes to consider Committee Report 8-15(4).

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier, I mentioned that the time has come for a certain motion put forward by one of the Members and here’s another motion whose time has come.

It took 30 years for us to have a review of the NWT Housing Corporation. I often speak that the Housing Corporation Act of 1978 is very old. It comes from a distant colonial past that we are doing this for you, your own good. In fact, some of our policies, Mr. Speaker, still do that, like the EDAP and mortgage assistance policies. Well, we’ll lend you the money, but we will still build it for you and you will have to pay us...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect to the motion, I, too, see that as a gap. As a Member with many small communities and many elders in the communities, having their knowledge valued is something that is of great importance. As well, many of the elders I represent are not wealthy elders. They don’t have huge RRSP stockpiles on which to draw upon. Often the only income they have is what they get from the federal government and what they get from the territorial government. Often they are used at meetings for consultation. We bring them to meetings. We pay them a limited amount of money, but...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m amazed that the government is broke already; we just gave them a billion dollars.

---Laughter

My question is for the Minister of Public Works and Services. Earlier this week, members of my community got together with respect to accessibility for disabled. I was just wondering if there was an assessment done on all the facilities that government owns and leases in the Nahendeh riding with respect to accessibility access. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was just wondering who sits on this committee because the last time I drove to Fort Simpson, there wasn’t a plug-in half way where I could plug in my hybrid vehicle, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

So how far along has this plan progressed? I hope it’s not something that’s going to happen April 1st here. Mahsi.