Deh Cho

Statements in Debates

Debates of , (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know if this is the right time for it with all these guys being up here, but I want to speak about the federal government’s attitude towards the Northwest Territories.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, we recently heard about all the cuts that were made. A billion dollars cut for youth groups and for volunteer groups, adult literacy groups and for women’s groups. Mr. Speaker, these people put a lot of work into the job that they do. Why should we have them sitting like little pups under the table waiting for some scraps to fall off. We have money constantly leaving the...

Debates of , (day 14)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I guess, first of all, like everyone else, I should commend the commission for going out and taking the time to visit the communities and hear what the community concerns are. I am not totally convinced that all the factors were looked at when the report was compiled, the final report. However, we’ve had five commissions on electoral boundaries since 1978. The smaller communities, especially the smaller communities such as I have in my riding, have been very clear in terms of what they need to see, the concerns. It’s always seen as a case that the...

Debates of , (day 14)

It's not like we've got ten, fifteen thousand people to look after.

I look at the ridings of some of the Members here and I see the Member for Nunakput has a wide geographical riding. He has to go all over. Same with the Member for the Sahtu. He has a lot of communities he has to cover.

Debates of , (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are other processes that are available. People have the ability to file as interveners. The municipalities can do this, Individuals can do this, so it is not clearly demonstrated in every occasion that there has to be a hearing. In this case, there have been a number of issues brought forth by the municipality. There are also a number of issues by residents. The MLAs for that area have raised an issue. All of this information has to be compiled and looked at before there is confirmation that there will be a hearing. At this point, the Public Utilities...

Debates of , (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did have a chance to talk to the chair of the Public Utilities Board. At this time, it is not demonstrated that there will be a hearing. There have been a number of issues raised around the increase. A number of requests for information have been brought forward. All indications are that, more than likely, there will be one. But at this point, I can’t confirm that, absolutely, there will be one. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the process allows for interveners. There is a process that requires application to be filled in and applied for. It has to be justified. There is also a mechanism to cover some of the costs of people that are identified as interveners. A public hearing is something that would be determined by the Public Utilities Board after there is clear demonstration that there is a need for it. At this point, it is really premature in the case of the municipality of Inuvik. Thank you.

Debates of , (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did hear the Member’s comments during Members' statements yesterday. I did take the opportunity to check the act. There are requirements that the Public Utilities Board has to follow. It is the responsibility of the Public Utilities Board to provide information to the general public. However, the utility company that also is requesting an increase has responsibilities, that is to inform the municipality, and those things have been done in this case. There have been issues raised by some of the Members regarding increase request and also the...

Debates of , (day 14)

Well, I’m hoping Ottawa listens to us. Ottawa, are you listening?

---Laughter

I’d like to see our government send them a real strong message because it’s the people of the Northwest Territories that elected this government and we should be looking out for their best interest instead of having our strings pulled from Ottawa. I do not like the fact that they do make a lot of the decisions for the Northwest Territories. I am not a puppet and I don’t think this government should be. So I think it’s time we took a strong stand and maybe told Ottawa that enough’s enough. We want what’s rightfully...

Debates of , (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to provide an update on the status of the $35 million community capacity building fund established by the Government of the Northwest Territories from funding made available by the Government of Canada under the Northern Strategy.

The community capacity building fund provides significant one-time funding to communities to allow them to advance their unique priorities. One of the key features of the fund is that all local governing bodies in a community must agree on priorities before a proposal can be submitted. Starting November 1, 2005...

Debates of , (day 14)

Our history has shown that court has resolved these issues for us. My position is that we look at redrafting the boundaries rather than adding new Members. I don’t know how stable that is going to be. I am sure it will be a challenge. I would also look at making a recommendation if you have to do this, that we certainly provide some kind of guidance, some kind of criteria for our commission members to look at. If the concern was the number of Members increasing, then we should look at giving them strict direction and criteria. So those are my comments. I would like to see it next time around...