Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, October 6, 2008, I will move that Bill 19, Donation of Food Act, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to request a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion that I gave notice of earlier today.

Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s good to be back here with my colleagues. This is Literacy Week in the NWT, and yesterday was Read for 15 Day. In an effort to best Nunavut, as they challenge us for the greatest number of readers, I hope that everyone in this room did their homework. By that I mean that you read some material, even a comic book, for a mere 15 minutes and submitted your name for this contest. The NWT Literacy Council has many other activities planned for this week to celebrate and promote literacy. As they say on TV, check your local listings and take part in something in your...

WHEREAS pursuant to Section 61.(1) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, the Legislative Assembly recommends to the Commissioner the appointment of Members of the Executive Council;

AND WHEREAS pursuant to Section 61(2) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, the persons appointed hold office during the pleasure of the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS the Assembly, pursuant to these powers, has chosen the Honourable Norman Yakeleya to sit as a Member of the Executive Council;

NOW THEREFORE, I MOVE, seconded by the Honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, October 3, 2008, I will move the following motion.

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that this Assembly formally revoke the pleasure of the Assembly from the appointment of the Hon. Norman Yakeleya as a Member of the Executive Council.

And further, that this Assembly recommend that a new Member be chosen to be a Member of the Executive Council.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.

I was very glad to hear the Minister finally mention the education boards. He mentioned a lot of different organizations and finally mentioned the boards that he is consulting with as well. That’s a good thing.

The Minister has received a letter from the regional boards, and there are a number of recommendations in that letter for the Minister. On a similar vein, I’d like to know what action the Minister is planning to take to address these suggested options, apart from meeting with these board chairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to add a couple of things to this debate. I certainly agree with all of the comments that have been put forward already. I don’t feel the BIP should be eliminated at this point. I do believe strongly that it needs to be revised and revamped.

I think one of the things that probably is not in the BIP policy at the moment are differences between large projects and smaller projects and between larger communities and small communities. The economies are very different in the small communities than they are, for instance, in the city of Yellowknife, and I think...

Mr. Speaker, thank you to the Minister. It’s good information. That was the kind of information I was hoping to hear, the response that I think…. Obviously, he has worked with the communities, and that’s the response they want to hear.

To the money that’s available for transportation infrastructure. I know we have huge needs in that area, but how will a community get their projects on a list, if there is going to be a list — that famous list we all know about. If the money is being handled through either MACA or Transportation, how are communities going to be able to indicate the urgency of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on a statement made by the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs earlier today and on some of the questions posed by my colleague Mr. Krutko.

I need to say that I’m extremely pleased this agreement has been signed. It allows us to go forward and get started on many of the projects we know this territory needs.

Part of the Minister’s statement was that some $140 million was going to critical transportation infrastructure. He also stated the government plans to make $6.5 million per year available to community government.

My question to the...