Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It might be cheaper than flying fuel in, though.

Mr. Chairman, it is very difficult to sit here without any information at all. We don't have any information. I am asking the Minister if they have looked at something. He says they don't have to look at it. He is talking about wear and tear on the road. I think that, if you drive stuff in the winter over the highway, a gravel road driven in the wintertime can handle a lot more when the road is frozen than, obviously, the Minister realizes.

What I am saying is we should look at other possibilities, because unless the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'm not really sure where to start with this. I haven't been obviously impacted in the people that I represent, but I see that other people around the territory have been impacted by, I guess, we don't want to use the word "mistakes," but maybe a bit of a miscalculation on the part of the people doing this.

For the most part, the weather, the ice, and all that is pretty well consistent from year to year. I mean, I'm not saying it's the same every year. I mean the one thing that's predictable is that the weather is not predictable. That's what I'm saying...

I'd like to ask the Minister, just along the same lines, a little bit of difference: is there a possibility that, without any prohibition or anything, that the government or the liquor stores themselves can set a restriction on the amount of alcohol an individual can purchase in one day?

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. On my Member's statement, I talked about the impacts of alcohol in the small communities, or I guess impacts of alcohol in all our communities. You probably know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask the Minister of Finance if he could look at the possibility of reinvesting some profits directly into the issues of the impacts of alcohol in the communities. Thank you.

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to speak about alcohol and the effects on the NWT, especially on the Indigenous population. Alcoholism, however, is a disease that affects all people who have alcoholics in their families or social circles, whether it's a co-worker, friend, or somebody else in the community.

Mr. Speaker, let's begin with some facts. According to a recent study of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, in 2016, there were a total of 77,000 hospitalizations entirely due to alcohol, which is more than the number of hospitalizations due to heart attacks for...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the committee would like to consider Bill 8, Emergency Management Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I know that the Minister meant Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, but I would like to ask the Minister a question on the number. Earlier the Minister had indicated that there was not enough money to help everyone. That is why I asked the initial question. My question will be: I anticipate that there is not enough money going into business development in my riding, so I would like to ask the Minister, once he is able to provide the numbers, if the Minister would come back to the House for additional funding to support business development in the small communities?

Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I was listening to the question period here today, I heard the Minister of ITI respond to the Member from Sahtu about the dollar amount that has been spent in Sahtu. I would like to ask the Minister if he has that dollar amount for the riding of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh also. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister if there is any sort of policy that surrounds employment numbers. In my Member's statement, I referred to the dismal employment numbers that we have in the communities that I represent. I would like to ask the Minister, when spending money from the government for business development, if that is taken into consideration. Are employment numbers taken into consideration when spending money for any businesses in any of the communities in the territory? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.