Steve Norn

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. On the way here, I just want to share something that made me chuckle a little bit. I heard on the radio a song by the band called Cake. There is a line referencing finding somebody who isn't afraid to cut through red tape with a machete. It made me chuckle. You know, I thought that was a pretty good song, and it made me think about this. It made me think about my Member's statement today, and I thought I will get right into my line of questioning.

Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Premier as Minister of MACA. It's quite simple: why is your department holding a...

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, May 29th, 2020, I will move the following motion: Now therefore, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that this Assembly formally revokes the pleasure of the Assembly from the appointment of the honourable Member for Great Slave as a Member of the Executive Council; and further,that this Assembly recommends that a Member be chosen to be a Member of the Executive Council at the earliest opportunity.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

It's the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation, just to make sure I got that right. Thank you for the response from Madam Premier. My next question is: how will putting the regulatory burdens on a struggling tourism business help us emerge strong from this pandemic? Why is a MACA licence now required for remote tourism operations?

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. This week is National Tourism Week, from May 24th to the 31st of this month, and I wish I could stand here today to celebrate the incredible success of my constituents, the Lutselk'e Dene First Nation, the LKDFN, for their leadership and successful acquisition of the Frontier Fishing Lodge, which has operated for 40 years on the doorstep and has a global reputation as one of the premier fishing lodges in the Northwest Territories, but unfortunately, I can't.

Mr. Speaker, in December 2019, the LKDFN purchased the lodge and the entire business, including the operating...

Marsi cho, Madam Chair. I move that we rise and report progress.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Nothing further.

One answer I think that is going to probably have a big bearing on a lot of other departments and even Infrastructure, I notice here, is fuel services. One of the little bit of bright light and good news that we got through all this is the effect of the market forces on fuel prices. We've seen that go down quite a bit. Right now, we're going to be looking at delivering fuel to our isolated communities. It affects places like Lutselk'e right up to Nunakput, all that area up the river. It affects GNWT vehicles right across the board. So many places this will affect. My quick question is: have...

Thank you for the response from the Minister. I would like to just know a little bit more. Are there going to be any changes in terms of actually giving us a solid number? I know that it's case-by-case, but giving an actual solid number? I know that we have to keep in mind our social distancing and some of the rules that we have from our CPHO. If we could get an answer from our Minister, marsi cho.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. We are all Northerners. As Northerners, it's our very nature to mingle, hug, and shake hands, to be physically close with each other, especially true in our small communities. During this time, we normally had our carnivals. We had our jigging. I could hear the jigging in my head right now. I could hear the drums and people having a good time, but that was all disrupted by COVID. You know what? I believe we are all resilient. We are a resilient bunch, and we can get through this. We got through other scourges. I said in an online address on my social media that the key...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress.