Wendy Bisaro

Thanks, Madam Chair, and thanks to both Ministers for the explanation. That’s pretty much what I had understood. I guess the Minister of Finance has suggested that they wanted to make these positions more visible; well, they’ve become extremely visible at this point. Putting them in in sort of a manner that suggests you’re trying to slide something under the table has highlighted it for a lot of Members. I’m not suggesting that anything underhanded was done, by the way.

With regard to the ENR contracts and the fire suppression, the Minister stated that most of these contracts are front-end...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I totally agree with the Minister that we want to get it right and I think there are a number and certain parts of information that are lacking. The density study unfortunately was done from a desk, it wasn’t done from on the land, and that, in my mind, is lacking.

I’d like to ask the Minister, there’s another area that hasn’t yet been handled, from what I’ve seen, and that would be the ownership issue of letting leases on land that’s been claimed by prospectors where there are mineral claims, and also how is he going to handle the ownership issue of Yellowknives Dene...

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I hope by final product he means a report and not implementation, but I will come back to that.

One of the things that was glaring and obvious in the meeting that I was at, is that there has to date been no formal consultation with First Nations, the Yellowknives Dene whose traditional lands this area sits within. There has been no direct consultation with the users of the area, whether they be current leaseholders or day-use users. I would like to know from the Minister whether or not that specific consultation will be done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would first off like to recognize a hardworking Page from the riding of Frame Lake, Brenda Joyce-Hotte, who has been working with us all week. I believe she will be back next week to work hard for us again.

I would also like to recognize the members of the Homelessness Coalition who are with us, particularly Mayor Van Tighem, my mayor and also the president of the NWT Association of Communities; Lyda Fuller and Kate Wilson with the YWCA; Dayle Hernblad, who is the city’s homelessness coordinator; and last but not least, Amanda Mallon, who is a Homelessness...

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. It was the mental health review, I believe. Did you wish to comment on that? I believe the last one was a mental health review. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the last 20 years or more, Yellowknife residents have been unable to lease land for a cabin or a campsite of their own. Some people have taken matters into their own hands and are now firmly established in the area as squatters. Our Department of Municipal and Community Affairs started to take action to deal with squatters a few years ago. In 2009 MACA placed a moratorium on recreational land leases and began work to develop a recreational Land Lease Policy framework. A consultant was contacted to study the areas around Yellowknife and Inuvik in particular and to...

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. To general comments. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to Mr. Aumond for that explanation. I guess, I asked whether or not this has been to our benefit or whether it’s to our detriment. Maybe I can get a comment on that. I forget what my other question was so I guess it wasn’t all that important.