Wendy Bisaro

I’m somewhat perplexed by the Minister’s answer, but I accept that he has provided us with some rationale. That the Registered Retirement Savings Plan is considered a rainy day fund, I would like to suggest that it’s going to be raining awfully hard when people reach retirement age, and if they have no pension from their work, which many of our residents do not, then it’s going to be raining very hard. I can’t accept that rationale.

I’d like to ask the Minister, I mentioned a contradiction in my statement, and in terms of contradictions it is the requirement of the department basically that the...

I have to ask, is it the goal of the Minister and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to force our people into poverty or to lift them out of it? When was the last time ECE considered our income support policies, all of them, together? Is the contradiction in policy recognized by the Minister and the department, and if so, why has it not been corrected? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the Minister at a later time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Each year the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, CCSA, joins organizations across the country in observing National Addictions Awareness Week. Organized by CCSA, National Addictions Awareness Week highlights issues and solutions to help address alcohol and other drug-related harm. It provides an opportunity for Canadians to learn more about drug prevention, to talk about treatment and recovery, and to bring forward solutions for change.

In 2014, National Addictions Awareness Week will be held November 17th to the 21st, a little over a week from now. CCSA will also mark...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. Thank you for correcting me. Yes, I meant surety bond, so thank you for understanding what I meant.

I guess my concern is whether or not the department has looked at situations where a surety bond has had to be used. I appreciate that the reasoning that it frees the company up for capital as opposed to having a letter of credit, which is cash.

Can the Minister, if he has not or the department has not, look into previous situations or situations that exist anywhere in the world where a surety bond has had to be called on and how effective it was...

Thanks to the Minister. The Minister’s statement stated: “Security provides additional protection to ensure that there are funds to address environmental liabilities if proponents fail to take remedial action.” That’s definitely a statement that I can agree with and I’m very glad that that’s in there. I do have a bit of a difficulty in that if the amount is set by the board and yet the government is supposed to do the monitoring and enforcement, if the number is not enough for remediation, there’s a bit of a gap in there.

I’d like to ask the Minister how the assessments are made. He says that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a Page, Diana Rockwell. I recognized her yesterday, but she pulled a fast one on us and wasn’t here, so I would like to recognize her for her work for the past couple weeks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to rise in support of this motion and to be able to speak to the motion that’s before us today.

Although Members on this side of the House and committee have heard considerable support from our constituents and from the general public in support of the establishment of an ombudsman office, there are, unfortunately, still naysayers when it comes to establishing that office in the NWT. I think it’s because many people do not understand how the office can be a good force for government, that it can promote accountability in administration and improve...

Thanks to the Minister. The Minister also mentioned in his statement that we are working on short- and long-term policy development concerning the government’s management of securities. I would hope that the manner in which assessments are done would be part of that consideration. Certainly the other day there was quite a consideration of the difference, or the statement that we are using security bonds as opposed to irrevocable letter of credit.

I’d like to ask the Minister, and he may not be able to give me this answer today, but I would like to know from the Minister what the difference is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Lands. I’d like to follow up on his statement about establishment of the liabilities and financial assurances division.

Some questions have been asked already by other Members about security for development in the NWT. I’d like to ask the Minister first, in general, does the department have an approach, do they have a policy in regard to the value of security that is required for development? Is the security required equal to the value of the remediation or is it a percentage of the value of remediation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.

---Carried