Wendy Bisaro

I find it just simply reinforces my belief that we have not a can-do but a can’t-do attitude across the floor from me. I feel that it’s important that this government indicate that there is some support for these residents. I totally agree that the residents have to get themselves together, the condo corp has to get themselves together and they need to take action. I consistently tell them that, and other Members and other people within the city tell them the same thing. However, we can’t wait for the first stone to fall before we actually take action. I think this has to happen together and I...

To the Minister, you mentioned you’ve consulted with Sport North. I hope you’ve consulted with the other four member organizations as well. The Minister also stated in his statement that we will outline plans for implementing the SRC’s goals and objectives. I struggle to understand the relationship of the Sport and Recreation Council to MACA and the member organizations to the Sport and Recreation Council to MACA. Can the Minister give me a bit of an explanation?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I want to follow up on my statement. I referred to the Minister’s statement made on Monday of this week. The Minister, in his statement, said, “We will talk to them about their governance role as mandated by the department.” My first question to the Minister is if he could explain to me and to the public and to this House what is meant by that.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. I don’t disagree that I think our youth and our athletes in the NWT are going to benefit at the end of it. It’s interesting that the Minister seems to think I’m talking about one organization. But I’m not; I’m talking about all the member organizations of SRC. I guess I am struggling with the paternalistic attitude of MACA that I hear in his statement. Just a comment. Thank you.

Thank you to the Minister, I think; I’m not sure. I’d like to ask the Minister in terms of the Sport and Recreation Council and the member organizations within that council, that organization – there are five of them – and if we are basically telling them their mandate, have those five member organizations had any opportunity to provide input to the Minister and/or to MACA or SRC with regard to their roles and responsibilities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to provide some comments to a Minister’s statement made on Monday by the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Members probably know that I’m interested in sport – sport in general, sport in the North. I was a founding member of Sport North many years ago and I have followed the ups and downs of the administration of sport in the NWT. I was intrigued and somewhat concerned by some of the comments in the Minister’s statement on Monday.

The Sport and Recreation Council of which he spoke was established in 2005 as an umbrella organization for NWT bodies...

I don’t like to correct my colleagues but I think the Premier should well know that reports going to standing committee are not public. This report, in my mind, has never been to the public and there are many interested people in the gallery and elsewhere in our territory who want to know what was in that paper. I think I have to express some of the disappointment, as well, that some of the people in the gallery I suspect are feeling at the moment. The Premier mentioned by mid-2012 he expects that we will have a draft Anti-Poverty Strategy. Really, in the previous Assembly there was a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a great pleasure to see so many people in the gallery today. I won’t go through the list that my colleagues have already gone through, but I’m particularly pleased to see so many members from the NWT Literacy Council, from the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition, from Alternatives North and from the Y. Welcome to all of you. I’d like to specifically recognize three people, two constituents: Lorraine Hewlett and Suzette Montreuil. I would like to specifically welcome my constituency assistant, Amanda Mallon, to the House. Welcome everybody and thank you for coming.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I’d like to thank my colleagues for their support, particularly Mr. Hawkins for calling me a champion. Thank you very much.

I’d like to just take note of two things in this motion. One is that it asks for the development of this strategy to be inclusive and to involve more than just the government. It needs to have a cross-section of society, and that was mentioned by my other colleagues. The other thing is that it asks for clear cross-departmental mechanisms for coordination and integration of actions. I think that’s one thing that if we are going to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the 16th Legislative Assembly passed a motion for the development of an Anti-Poverty Strategy;

AND WHEREAS work toward a clear and integrated strategy to combat poverty was undertaken during the 16th Assembly but was not completed;

AND WHEREAS every person has the right to a standard of living adequate to the well-being of their families and themselves;

AND WHEREAS in 2009, 16.7 percent of NWT families had a total income of less than $30,000;

AND WHEREAS health indicators, educational achievement, child apprehension rates and family violence can be directly related...