Michael Miltenberger

Thebacha

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

My understanding is that the deadlines that were set by the federal government have slipped because of the election. Cabinet is not going to be sworn in or appointed until possibly tomorrow. We have this on our list to follow up on, along with many other issues. I will, of course, make note of the Member’s concerns.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we discussed somewhat in this House last week, this process is driven by the federal government. They’ve, for the most part, treated the GNWT as just another stakeholder. There’s been some improvement in that relationship since the signing of the AIP. The proposed surface rights legislation which is contemplated in the MVRMA, there was a first draft done in 2010 and we’re still waiting for a possible second draft. Things were delayed because of the election.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 6, Forgiveness of Debts Act, 2010-2011, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On May 12th, during question period, I indicated that I would share with committee the report and recommendations, and I will do that on a confidential basis. I am prevented legally from sharing the report. Subsection 15(4) of the Evidence Act prevents any person with whom the report is shared from disclosing it unless it is for the purpose of medical research or medical education. It can also be shared for the purpose of other quality assurance committee activities which are carried out by quality assurance committees.

I wish to clarify that, as I stated previously, I...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document titled Public Accounts 2009-2010. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you. The Member for Hay River South and I have a history going back on this issue, a shared history to a certain extent, going back probably over 20 years on dealing with children in care, teenagers. I would be more than happy to sit down as a good starting point with the chair of the Social Programs and the Social Programs committee. I agree that this could be one issue that’s identified in the transition plan that’s going to need attention, given the events that are happening around us. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Thank you. This is a community issue of which there are many roles for people to play, and governments. The role that we play, we have resources on the ground with social workers, with child protection people. We have probation officers, we have teachers, we have nurses, there’s some youth centres, there’s recreation centres that we have. We work with communities to build their community recreation complexes. For those that need specific counselling, we have access to some psychological, and more difficult, but we have also access to some psychiatric services, though the psychiatric services...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

The Member is aware of the financial circumstances that this government is under. I made a statement, as the Minister of Finance, laying out very clearly the challenges we face in our almost non-existent fiscal flexibility. We just heard yesterday in the House the concern about what happens if there’s a major fire season, for example. Where do we get the money from? The Member is clearly aware of those restrictions.

So we have, at this point, no capacity. We have a list that is a great, long list, Mr. Speaker, of very many commendable projects that all would require our assistance that Members...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

Mr. Speaker, we have a contribution and a plan and an interdepartmental plan that pools resources to deal with homelessness across the Northwest Territories. What we have here is another situation where infrastructure is being developed because of the local will to do the construction with no O and M money in place to run it as of yet. We went through the same long process with the dementia centre and we are not in the situation fiscally where we are in a position to offer up millions of dollars of homelessness money as it doesn’t now exist unless we take it from the few dollars that are...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 6th Session (day 9)

This whole process is a classic example of why Northerners have to have control over their own decision-making in this area; regulatory reform and resource development, land and water.

Here we are in this Assembly trying to find out what the federal government’s up to. They haven’t told us clearly. They’ve made some comments about something dramatic that they want to do. We are concerned that they’re going to do things that are not going to be in our best interest as a territory. There’s been some improvement in relationships since the signing of the AIP where now the federal government has...