Robert Villeneuve

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t get any indication of why we are not charging a toll fee on tonnage in the operations of the ferry or even the operations of the highway. I know there is a fixed rate at the weigh scales that companies pay, but right now, before we hit them with the $6.50 in 2010 or $10 or whatever it may be when the bridge finally opens its gates, why can’t we just start charging them a toll right now? Then when it comes time to charge them a toll when the bridge is open, they won’t take it so harshly and won’t try to think of alternatives to work around it. Why can’t we...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up with the Member’s statement on the Deh Cho Bridge project. I just have some questions for the honourable Premier, Mr. Handley, I think whose court that this bridge is in right now. I just want to talk about some cost recovery initiatives that this government could probably give the green light to and probably should seriously consider giving the green light to since the Deh Cho Bridge sounds like it’s a go ahead anyway. The $6 a ton fee that the Premier was talking about last week that the rates plus the cost of living that’s going to be charged to...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, rise in support of this motion. It is a good start. I know a motion like this doesn’t give all families 100 per cent confidence that our systems are protective of our children, but at least we are starting somewhere to give people a level of confidence to look at this government and say that we do care about our valuable resource here in the North, being our children, and that we are willing to take some extreme steps to ensure that that safety is covered under an umbrella motion like this which would basically give all our families in the NWT some level of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, if we need some more marine transportation legislation, fine, let’s just forget about the toll on the ferry. Let’s have a toll on our highway system. How about that? Why don’t we put a toll fee right at the weigh scales in Enterprise where the trucks come in? Why can’t they pay a toll fee right there? I don’t see that charging them $10 extra is going to make any big difference. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that through the RC distribution payment being considered exempt, they did take the government to court and the court did decide it should be exempt as income, as unearned income or exempt from clawback on your monthly income.

Mr. Speaker, if we are going to see residential school settlements being included as exempt in the new income support reform, then why can’t we include IBA dollars? A lot of claimant groups only get this money based on…It’s not guaranteed every year. They could have used the money for something else and they could have distributed it...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the honourable Minister Dent, on our income security reform, or income support reform that the department is going to be going through. I just wanted to talk about the recent payout of IBA to some income support clients in Fort Resolution that have been clawed back through their income support assistance for the month. I just want to ask the Minister in relation to the request for an exemption on the Hook Lake Bison Recovery Program and the compensation settlement on that. Will he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, well let me ask the Minister this, if he can explain to me what the difference is between the Inuvialuit regional claim distribution payments and IBAs. I don’t see any difference in it, Mr. Speaker. I would like the Minister to tell me what that difference is. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, well, let’s just get on the topic of compensation here and section 20 of the Income Assistance Program policies, Mr. Speaker. You know, we’re treating the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement and the Merchant Navy Agreement as compensation and as exempt. I don’t know who thought that up, but any stuff like the Indian treaty money received is also exempt. It says here the beneficiary will not…your calculation of net monthly income. We receive treaty money once a year, Mr. Speaker. It’s $5 a year. They’ve got it in here. That’s an insult for the treaty money...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize nurses week being May 6th to the 13th. I also would like to express my congratulations to Gail Beaulieu on her completion of the Nurse Practitioner Program at Thebacha college last week.

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I would also like to see Ms. Beaulieu return to her hometown of Deninu Kue and continue to provide nursing services to the residents, because we do have a shortage of nurses in our community and people are encouraged to visit our health centre on an emergency basis only.

Mr. Speaker, the nurses here in the North have to be very dedicated, hard...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my point of advice, when we’re reviewing this rent scale, everything that this government reviews is based on Yellowknife. Our power is based on Yellowknife; all our subsidies are based on Yellowknife; our rent is based on Yellowknife; vacancy; everything Yellowknife. When we’re reviewing this, can we go out to these communities and really do some real analysis of what people are actually willing to pay and what it costs to build a unit there and how much people can rent it out at a fair market rent based on that community only, Mr. Speaker? Not on...