Kevin O'Reilly

I am disappointed to hear the response from the Minister. He has provided the numbers, and I think they show otherwise, but the situation that we find ourselves in today with no visitor services in Yellowknife is unacceptable. Dedicated full-time staff have been laid off, artisans have lost an important retail outlet, and summer tourists will have reduced access to services. I just do not understand why we are in the situation that we are and that it is has taken this much to get the government to finally act.

Can the Minister explain what he and his staff are doing to find a permanent location...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to recognize a couple of constituents: Pam Schlosser and Dean MacInness, who are both educators.

There are also some folks in the gallery from the Northern Frontier Visitors Association: Mr. Kyle Thomas is the chair of the board, and Ian Henderson is on the board as well, and Tracy Therrien is the executive director, and I believe some of her staff are here as well. I am sorry if I missed anybody, but thank you very much for joining us today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the elder who was here earlier who gave our opening prayer, Mary Louise Drygeese. She made my lovely vest and I'm very proud to wear it in this House. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The only thing I would like to say is I want to thank the committee again for all the work that was done, our staff that helped us get us to this point very ably, and I do want to thank all the Members for their passionate discussion yesterday. I think it was useful to have those matters discussed in public; it wasn't an easy discussion. I know that we will continue to work together on all of those issues as MLAs in this House. So once again, thanks to everybody for their thoughtful submissions yesterday. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that the conflict of interest provisions of the Legislative Assembly and the Executive Council Act and other relevant legislation policy be the subject of a public review before the end of the 18th Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act be amended to expand the duties of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner to include oversight of the Members' Conduct Guidelines or Code of Conduct; and further, that the Commissioner be empowered to receive and investigate complaints from a Member or any other person respecting breaches of prescribed conduct and to recommend sanctions or penalties as appropriate to the Speaker; and furthermore, that the newly constituted Commissioner be known as the Ethics Commissioner. Thank you...

There is a potential for a conflict of interest when the mineral industry advisory board provides advice to the Minister generally, and in this specific case of the Work Credit Program, what is the Minister prepared to do to deal with this issue of potential for a conflict of interest and to improve transparency around the recommendations he gets from this board?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Can the Minister tell us why there was no consultation with the standing committee on the extension of the Work Credit Program for another two years? Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. On March 8th our government issued the media release "GNWT Extends Key Mineral Exploration Support Program." The release describes the extension of the Work Credit Program, which sets the value of exploration work required to keep mineral claims in good standing. Claim holders are now credited $1.50 for every eligible dollar spent. The release says the program originally "arose from recommendations made by the Mineral Industry Advisory Board."

I fully recognize that mining is important here, so we want to protect the integrity of our decision-making on this section...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. During the course of the committee's work, we had some submissions that mentioned that we should be looking at our conflict of interest provisions and make sure that they reflect best practices, particularly as a result of our government assuming new legislative authority and management responsibility over lands and resources. In line with that new responsibility, it does seem reasonable, and it was certainly reasonable in the view of the committee, that we should also take a look at our accountability as a government, and thus you have the recommendation before you. I...