Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I need to say to the Minister that industry itself is concerned with the impacts it has on the social conditions in communities that they’re close to. So I guess there are no terms of reference. I would like to ask the Minister, that as terms of reference are developed, as this project goes forward, if he will involve committee in providing some feedback to this board as it is developed. Thank you.

So, could I get a bit of an explanation as to what engagement means? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We would like to continue with consideration of Tabled Document 188-17(5), the Department of Human Resources to be continued, Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, NWT Housing Corporation and Justice, time permitting. Thank you.

I would presume we haven’t done any analysis since there was no reference to that, and I would encourage the Premier to do that.

It’s one thing to ask somebody to take another job, but when they are happy in their job and they’re good in their job, why are we forcing them to move into a job that they maybe don’t enjoy?

I’d like to ask the Premier, considering our current fiscal situation and the need to reconcile our expenses and our revenues, how can the Premier and Cabinet justify increasing the cost of some person years just to decentralize?

Just one last question. Can we get any kind of an indication of when we might get some kind of a resolution and some kind of an agreement on this proposed park?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Premier today. At the outset I would like to clarify, I never in my statement indicated that I was against decentralization. I am against how we are implementing the policy, and I challenge Members to read Hansard tomorrow and tell me where I said that I am against the Decentralization Policy.

My first question to the Premier is to ask the Premier what criteria are used to determine a position to be decentralized.

Thanks to the Minister for that. Good to know. Does implementation enter into this section or is it in another section, and with devolution, has there been an increase in the activity for us in this department in and around implementation?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to spend some time today talking about decentralization. I’ve been pretty much silent on the subject to date, but I can no longer be silent. I have grave misgivings about this policy and its implementation.

We have only to look eastward to Nunavut where they are reversing their previous actions and bringing positions back to Iqaluit. Why? Because decentralization is not working. I appreciate the intent of the policy, but, and it’s a very large but, I cannot condone the current mindset around the implementation of the Decentralization Policy.

The Minister of...

No.

Mr. Chair, I guess I missed that conversation. I don’t remember being asked what I thought. I guess I would suggest to the Minister that we need to go a little further afield than just MLAs when we’re getting input on whether or not a campaign school should be held more often.

My second question has to do with page 34 where it references a review of negotiating mandates. One of the things that have concerned me for a while is the position of the federal government with regard to funding of not negotiations, but funding of the agreements. They have a policy called Fiscal Harmonization Initiative...