Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise again to speak to the issue of squatters and land availability in the Yellowknife area. We know there is a big demand for recreational properties. We also know that because no new leases have been made available for many years, some people have helped themselves and went out to build structures, some more permanent than others, without permission or further legal right to be out there on that land. The area around the Ingraham Trail is particularly affected by these so-called trespassers or even squatters. There have been many previous debates in this House...

I will tell you, it was painful sitting here listening…

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like all my other colleagues here, probably every single one in this building would believe that good infrastructure is critical. It’s important to the growth of the Northwest Territories as a whole. It’s good for the people. It’s good for the people, it’s good for business, it’s good for everything. Mr. Speaker, just like the road to Tuk someday, just like the bridges and roads in the Sahtu and maybe the roads that link the Tlicho communities, good infrastructure to Yellowknife such as a bridge is a significant step forward for everyone. Mr. Speaker, I am...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Minister could expand what we're prepared to look at means, because I hope he would go to some type of public discussion, potentially even a competition, but I would certainly like to make sure that he engages our tourism industry partners on this issue. Is he willing to go out to some kind of discussion? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just for clarity here, I am going to go back, although I have asked for it, I just want to be sure that we are on the same page. Would the Premier be willing to go out and speak to the Akaitcho folks and even place a phone call to the DIAND folks who are in charge of this area and strike up this meeting? The talks I have had with these individuals, they are ready and very interested in dealing with this problem. Would the Premier agree to do that today? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I see this issue clearly around the word respect. This is respect for First Nations land. This is respect for our environment. This is respect about the law. So if we don’t deal with the trespassers, it’s a serious issue. I have spoken to one of the local chiefs and he’s concerned. I have spoken to some of the DIAND folks here and they are concerned. Would the Premier be willing to initiate this, I think he called it a tabled situation. I’m sorry; I missed how he said it. Anyway, would he be willing to reinitiate this process to get this discussion out...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a couple of people to recognize. The first one I'd like to recognize is Ms. Phila Fyten. She's a very involved constituent in our community. I, too, wish to acknowledge the AFS student living in the riding with Sue and Norm Glowach, and the young lady's name is Letizia Foracchia. I hope that's close enough. She's staying with Norm and Sue Glowach, who are a generous family, well-known for taking in many adventurous students through the AFS Program. So thank you to them and welcome.

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We promised to come here and not accept things just at any cost. Mr. Speaker, we can’t accept this just at any cost in blind faith without having the sense of what this is going to cost. I think it is totally irresponsible of us to just assume it will be okay. Mr. Speaker, I do not assume it will be okay and I am not going to assume the federal government is going to come behind us and sweep up and say don’t worry, we will cover the shortfall. We need to have a comfort letter from Ottawa. We need to have a comfort letter, heck, from Cabinet. That could be just in the fact of what it’s really...

Well, I can’t imagine anyone here is foolish enough to think that. Mr. Speaker, there is no blank cheque support from me on this project until we know what it’s going to cost. Mr. Speaker, if we can say we knew what it cost five years ago, that is completely unacceptable because Cabinet comes to us practically every month and says by the way, this project costs more than it did last year or last month and by the way, we need an extra 10 or 15 percent. You know what? It doesn’t erode the fact that it’s an important piece of infrastructure. It just further casts into concrete how important it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's actually good news, because when I brought the Minister the phrase "spectacular" to line up with the NWT Tourism initiative, I was quite in favour of it, but I was a little hesitant to suggest it had to be that one, only because I thought a lot of discussion would have to go into this. Could the Minister explain, or possibly highlight, when he expects a new campaign to launch this will take place? Thank you.