Statements in Debates
Again, we would have to ensure that the firms are following the new piece of legislation that was passed by the 16th Assembly, and if there is a need to… Well, obviously there is a need in some cases to be a bit more vigilant. I will commit to Members on the other side that I will follow up with the department to see what we’re doing on our part to ensure firms are following the legislation that was passed, and that consumers are aware of the potential interest rates they may be charged.
Mr. Speaker, it is an ongoing review. I will contact those that are involved, and see where they’re at, and see if there are any preliminary findings that I can share with the Members. I will be sure to give that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, one of the things we heard from NWTAC and a lot of the communities that are on the highway system, is their lack of capacity to respond to accidents that might be outside the town. We have $200,000 that was earmarked for ground ambulance and highway service rescue. We have decided that we’re going to allocate some of that for training. So we’ll have a lot of people in communities that are trained to be first responders. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a few residents of Inuvik. We have Lisa Semmler up there. Mr. Jozef Carnogurski. Topsy Cockney is up there. I’d also like to recognize Caroline Lennie from Tsiigehtchic. Welcome to the Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, we had identified $200,000 in the past for ground ambulance and highway services. We had some communities take us up on that money. Once they realized there is a huge liability without the proper training, they kind of backed off a bit.
We are looking at the overall picture. There is a departmental advisory committee that’s looking at it right now, and we’re waiting to see what they come back with, what some of their recommendations might be. So we are looking forward to that. Once we get that, we’ll be able to share it with the Members. We will share it with NWTAC, and look...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through the office of the assistant fire marshal in each region, we’re working with community fire departments to identify training and anything else they may need. I believe that work has been done and we are just waiting to hear. Once shortcomings are identified, we will work with the communities and try and get them trained up, or work with them in identifying potential pieces of equipment they may need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re well aware of the article in the paper and the fact that many residents here in Yellowknife have an issue with the price of gasoline in Yellowknife. If we were to get some concern from the general public, if they have specific questions that they might want answered, I would advise them to contact consumer affairs, and we will look at them on a case-by-case basis. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we have been investigating, from the beginning of this, how it is affecting our seniors and we continue to look at it. We work with the seniors again. They do have the benefit of the $1,000 exemption, and the bracket would take a significant increase for them to get into the next bracket.
However, the Member asked if I will investigate. I will look at it and I will provide information to the Member. Thank you very much.
Mr. Speaker, the income levels for the seniors are whatever household income that they bring in with all the different types of income that they are eligible for. As well, we have a $1,000 exemption for the seniors. So $1,000 is exempted from determining their rent that they pay. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve heard some of the comments over there about the operators here in Yellowknife and there was a comment of price fixing, but actually with the issue being raised in the House here it may bring attention to it and I think they may have a look at how the prices are set, because I did read the article and I heard one of the comments from one of the gentlemen that was interviewed on how if one did it then the rest of them would lower their prices. I think the fact that we’re raising it here in a public forum might go a long way and have them look at how their prices are...