Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Minister. How? What sort of options did you come forward with? Could you please explain to me what considerations were taken, what options were considered and what the decision was? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I spoke today about priorities for the next capital infrastructure budget and the 2011-2012 budget. I know it is a long ways away, but I think it is time we start considering priorities of the government. I suggested that providing cell service in the 25 communities that don’t currently have it should be one of the priorities of this government. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Finance. I would like to ask the Minister where the provision of cell phone service to all communities in the NWT sits in terms of this government’s priorities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree that the Yukon is not the NWT. We certainly have different geography, but the information I’ve been given from a technical perspective is that really all we need is a cell phone tower in every community. So that’s 25 towers. We certainly don’t need to have towers in between every one of our communities.

My last question for the Minister -- hopefully, he can give me an answer that I will like, I guess -- but what will it take for this government, this Cabinet, to make cell phone service provision in providing cell phone service in all of our communities a priority...

I thank the Minister for his answer. I can’t argue that we have set a capital plan out. However, I can argue that these plans are not set in stone. I don’t think they should be considered firm and concrete from day one when we first establish these plans. In a four-year period of our election, we have to be able to respond to the various concerns of our constituents, and not just my constituents but across the Territory. I would like to suggest that, certainly, priorities can change. I think they do change. I have seen that already in two years.

I would like to know from the Minister whether or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The ink has barely dried on the capital budget for 2010-2011. It was just yesterday we passed Bill 6, but I am thinking ahead to the next capital budget and where we should place our emphasis and dollars in the 2011-12 infrastructure budget.

It has been mentioned several times by Members during this sitting and it has been mentioned in previous sessions as well, but it bears repeating. This government, this Assembly, must make it a priority to establish cell phone service in all of our NWT communities.

---Applause

Mr. Menicoche has spoken of the Deh Cho Trail as a possible...

Thanks to the Minister for that answer. I guess I was referring and I needed to be a little more explicit, but for extraordinary expenditures where you have an unforeseen capital cost or an unforeseen expenditure of a fairly large nature, what kind of planning goes in place for those sorts of things? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to recognize a hardworking member of the Water Strategy group, a constituent, Judy McLinton who’s up behind me somewhere. I’d also like to recognize two of the Pages who have been working so hard on our behalf over the last three weeks, Aimee Yurris and Michael Callahan, who are constituents as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank all my colleagues for their remarks. I in particular would like to thank the Minister for his considered remarks. I appreciate the actions that the department is taking and I will hopefully see that some of the discussion today is going to come to fruition.

I’d like to comment on a bit of a technical point. A couple of people have mentioned that we’re creating legislation if this goes through and technically, no, we’re not. We already have the legislation. We’re asking for an amendment to an existing piece of legislation. So we’re not really creating...

WHEREAS distracted driving affects more than just drivers and passengers on our roads;

AND WHEREAS the 2008 “NWT Traffic Collision Facts Report” shows a 17 percent increase in collisions, and identifies that 16 percent of those collisions result from ‘loss of control’;

AND WHEREAS cell phone service is available in seven of our communities to approximately 75 percent of NWT residents;

AND WHEREAS cell phone use is increasing across the Territory;

AND WHEREAS drivers using cell phones and hand-held devices are four times more likely to be involved in a collision;

AND WHEREAS the Canadian Automobile...

I would like to thank the Minister again for that answer. I would like to follow it up a bit with a question relative to whether or not the Power Corporation has ever considered a different process in an effort to try and minimize the cost to customers on their power bills, and in order to try and eliminate rate riders and to keep things on as much of an even keel as possible. Has the corporation ever considered a different model for the recovering of capital costs other than the current one? Thank you.