Michael Nadli

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is encouraging to hear from the Minister that one of the steps that he begins to perhaps contemplate is an immediate step of an action plan to ensure that the Economic Development Strategy moves forward. I want to see if there could be assurances from the Minister that he’ll commit to ensure that some initiatives that are badly needed in the have-not communities, like the communities that I represent in the riding, will happen.

Would the Minister commit to ensure that the partnership will continue, especially with the wood pellet industry initiative that’s ongoing...

Following up on that, there are three other communities, including Enterprise, Hay River Reserve, Kakisa, and my riding. I want to get an indication from the Minister, what are some other ways the department is working to ensure we develop a capacity for promoting tourism? Also at the same time, there are some opportunities that some entrepreneurs are beginning to raise interest in, and I wanted to know how the department is planning to support capacity. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the chair of the Assembly’s Standing Committee on Government Operations, I’m pleased to move this motion. Committee members have a keen interest in any measures that could improve government accountability, administrative fairness and responsiveness. The matter of a territorial ombudsman, which could be just such a measure, has often been discussed in this House. There is support from this Assembly for the concept, as shown by the passage of Motion 9-17(3) last June.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations took the initiative to write to the Premier to state...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with a motion I gave notice of earlier today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleague from Range Lake for seconding this motion. Essentially this motion asks for the establishment of ambulances and, at the same time, highway rescue services to deal with people that are in distress either in communities or on the highway.

Of course, it also calls for the enhancement of first responder training, training for fire departments, as well, and likely the establishment of protocols for dealing with emergency situations both inside and outside of communities. I understand there has been an interdepartmental exercise in terms of...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, March 18, 2013, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that the potential role of an NWT ombudsmen, whether stand-alone or combined with another statutory office, and options for implementing such an office, be referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for research, review and analysis, and that the committee report its findings back to the House at the earliest opportunity;

And further, that the Standing Committee on Government Operations shall be provided, through...

I think it was just recently that one community in particular had worked on trying to advance the eight-step process and I think they’re at the point where they’re trying to conclude one of the stages to ensure that the process continues. Suddenly the government has stepped back and I want to know from the Minister why the department stepped back from the Protected Areas Strategy process.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Mr. Peter Redvers, who has been doing work with the community of Kakisa and also Ka’a’gee Tu First Nations.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If our Electoral Boundaries Commission has its way, my Deh Cho riding will not exist in the next election. It will be folded into a large group of far-off communities. This is true of every proposal made by the Boundaries Commission.

This is unjust. It may comply with the cold, hard numbers a court suggested as standards for the composition of a riding, but this is a classic example of how the numbers do not tell the true story.

Even now, Members who live in Yellowknife are fairly quickly available to their constituents most of the time. But an MLA with many isolated...

WHEREAS nine Canadian provinces and Yukon have parliamentary ombudsman offices;

AND WHEREAS Yukon, a smaller jurisdiction than the Northwest Territories, has combined the offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioner with that of an ombudsman;

AND WHEREAS the Government of Yukon recently commissioned a report on the operations of Yukon’s combined ombudsman/Information and Privacy Commissioner, which in February 2013 recommended that the office be made a full-time position, citing pending health privacy and whistleblower legislation which are expected to increase the workload in the...