Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, this is an exciting day for me because I have been trying to promote the use of laptops in Committee of the Whole for a long time. I’ve looked around Canada and I’ve seen that most Legislatures, including the House of Commons, allow the use of laptops in their proceedings and allow them to do the work required at the same time as normal House business goes on.

Mr. Chairman, I think this is a bit scary for some Members and it certainly would be new for others, but the thing here is it would allow Members to do work at the same time. I see it as a working...

If I’m approximately correct in that, three times the amount is how much more we’re paying than the normal rate. So if our water bill is almost $6 million, then a normal bill in this regard should -- the combined water bills, that is, when I refer to a normal water bill -- only be around $2 million. If we’re just using it as to subsidize the communities, why aren’t we just funnelling this money through MACA through some sort as opposed to doing it through the back door? It seems like a flawed policy that we’re inflating one side of the equation just to hide income under another process. Why...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures tabled Committee Report 3-16(3) on February 11, 2009. This report on the use of laptop computers and BlackBerry devices in the Legislative Assembly was read into the record and a motion was passed to move the report into Committee of the Whole. Members may recall that the report recommended that laptop computers be allowed during the Committee of the Whole proceedings during the sitting of the Legislative Assembly and that the use of laptops be evaluated.

The committee is also recommending that the standing and special...

Mr. Chairman, I’ve heard that before, so it’s kind of nice to hear officially that it’s true. Is that considered right or reasonable from the government’s point of view, that we’re paying a full commercial rate or the highest rate possible on things like power or water? Thank you.

I’m glad the Minister points out that annual report by the rental officer because, I’ll tell you, it doesn’t point to that. He’s quite correct because it’s not under the authority of the rental officer. So how would he monitor, gauge, or deal with anything of that nature? That’s the whole problem. There’s no way to deal with this under the mechanism. If somebody came to the rental officer and said my rent was raised twice within 12 months then the rental officer would have a case to stand on. If somebody came to the rental officer and said the landlord doubled my rent once this year, the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be supporting this motion. As I have come to be aware over the last few years of the government here, it is not unusual for the department to put houses in communities that we can’t put anybody in and so these houses sit empty. It becomes a real eyesore to the community. It bothers them that they are sitting there and nobody is in there. If this adjustment by playing with the threshold we can get one more family into a safe and secure household, then I certainly think it is certainly worth looking at. It is a noble effort. Mr. Chairman, that is all I will be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Assembly, like many others, will always try to find a special hallmark to hang its hat when they’re finished their business at the end of their term. Helping the working family would certainly be a highlight of anyone’s career and a certain Assembly. I talked about rent control and my questions are directed to the Minister of Justice, who will be in charge of the overseeing of the Residential Tenancies Act rewrite. Would the Minister be willing to make sure that there is some element in that act that provides protection for renters out there?

My apologies to belabour the point. What was the position that the Auditor General had, and did they have correspondence to that effect and, if so, would the Minister be able to forward on a copy of that on to my office? Thank you.

I would like to talk today about an issue that affects a lot of Northerners. It is an issue about trying to be able to afford basic living here in the North. Whether you are a one-income family or two, everyone needs to be able to afford to live somewhere. In many cases, and not all, but many of these people can’t afford to buy and own their own homes so they do what everyone else does in this situation, they rent. Now over the last few years, I have seen rent rates jump 16 percent or more each year here in Yellowknife. I have learned that even in some small communities around our great North...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Specific to debt repayment of course, what is the actual outstanding debt that Canada is picking up for us in total? As I understand it, I think it is in the range of $80 million dollars, but I will let the Minister say it for the record, the actual debt amount. I see what we are doing as a repayment this year, but that money is funded through Canada. So if the Minister could put it on the record, I would appreciate it. Thank you.