Wendy Bisaro

Thanks to the Minister. Just one quick question, I guess. Relative to the frequency of visits to communities, particularly for people looking to take drivers testing and get drivers’ licences issued, how often would these mobile issuing stations make the rounds, so to speak? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Item 8, written questions.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a comment here. I’d like to thank the department and commend the department and their staff for the work that was done on the city of Yellowknife by-pass road. It’s a huge improvement in terms of city safety. We have another access to get in and out of the city. I just would like to express my appreciation for the fact that this is basically completed. Thanks for the work.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I asked the Minister what the plan was that exists. I don’t think I have heard an answer to that. But I appreciate the offer, which I think I heard in that answer and the previous one, of looking at the process. I really think that is something we absolutely have to do. It is not fair right now. There is not an opportunity to assist communities in achieving their end goals; not the government’s goals, the communities’ goals. As this government revises the Greenhouse Gas Strategy, would this idea of an NWT green fund be able to be considered under the revision of that...

Okay. Thanks to the Minister for that. I’d like to know whether or not this government has a policy relative to recreational facilities which are on Commissioner’s land for which there are leases. Do we have a special policy or just a policy in regard to recreational leases?

I thank the Minister for his 60 million reasons. I only want 55 million. I’ll take the other five million, thank you very much, and put it into an NWT green fund.

The Minister has, I assume, but since I asked why he isn’t enabling, he must consider that he is enabling, and I don’t feel if he thinks that enabling that it is a fair process. He talked about the gas tax money and that communities have gas tax money, but in my estimation the gas tax money is used for the communities’ capital projects in general. It’s not specific to energy projects, and energy projects can be very costly.

A green...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a question with regard to recreational land leased to recreational organizations. I believe that the Yellowknife Golf Course, at least part of it is on Department of Transportation land or Commissioner’s land which is managed by the Department of Transportation. I wondered if the Minister could comment on whether or not there’s any possibility that because this is a Yellowknife recreational organization and I know that other recreational organizations within the city of Yellowknife that lease land from the city pay somewhat reduced lease fees, from what I can...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister I guess I have to say that I appreciate that people can apply for these funds, but there’s no identified pot of money that is going specifically to communities. I guess I would encourage any community out there to apply to the Minister for some funds.

The last thing I want to say is that the situation that exists now with no specific process for communities to apply does not allow them to apply for a loan, and in many cases it’s the community needs a loan not necessarily a grant. So can I ask the Minister how a community who needs a loan for a project...

Thanks to the Minister. It’s good to hear that, that businesses are related to the airline industry. In terms of the land, is this government land? Is it city land? If it is city land, how are taxes dealt with? Thank you.

I thank the Minister for that information. I already know that information and I agree readily that we have earmarked a huge amount of money for energy projects for green projects, but there is no opportunity within that $60 million that has been identified for municipalities or for communities to apply and to access those funds. So I’d like to ask the Minister how any NWT community can access those funds for a particular high cost capital project that they might have. Thank you.