Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that didn’t explain anything, I’m sorry to say. It just said there’s a sliding scale that goes up to 40 percent. Mr. Speaker, we have a situation of $72,000. Explain the scenario. Tell me they came from low income housing and they were paying $200 a month and this government was darn well going to make sure that they paid a mortgage at $200 a month regardless of how expensive this house is. Explain the scenario. Show some transparency on this program. Would the Minister do that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on the heels of my Member’s statement with questions to the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my Member’s statement, $72,000 was given to one person and as far as I see it, we could have given three people $24,000 for a down payment and that would have been considered reasonable. Could the Minister explain to me in somewhat reasonable detail, obviously without giving out the name of the person who we gave it to, why there was such a variance between one down payment of $6,500 and another down payment of $72,000?...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with serious concerns regarding the Housing Corporation and how it is running its EDAP program. That is the Expanded Downpayment Assistance Program.

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost I am really glad to see that we are putting people into home ownership and I think that is the bottom line that I really like to see. However, there are serious concerns in regard to how we treat our down payment. We are now treating it as a big handout as opposed to the help-up that I have always believed it should be.

Mr. Speaker, I posed some sound questions to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being one of the last to recognize visitors in the gallery, I think everyone I had on my list has been recognized, so I will just go through quickly. I have a special recognition to Right Reverend Bishop Sperry, Karen Wright-Fraser, Katherine Youngblut, Ed Jeske, His Worship Gordon Van Tighem, Chief Supreme Court Justice Ted Richard, MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew, chief negotiator John B. Zoe and, of course, to everyone else who didn’t get recognized, and Sandy’s mom. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin my statement, I wish to make a special announcement. My second son was born just over a month ago, on NWT Day. His name is Hudson; and if pooping and crying is healthy, he certainly is very healthy. Everyone is fine and I wanted to take this first opportunity to announce that.

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Thank you. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I was invited by a Yellowknife Centre business to go to Japan and attend some aurora meetings. It was at their suggestion that someone with a political point of view come to see how important the aurora is to the Japanese...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again on the heels of my Member’s statement, I spoke about visiting the Canadian pavilion. It wasn’t my intention to go to the pavilion, but I happened to be in the area so I made the extra effort to pop over for a few minutes and see the enthusiasm about the aurora. What I noticed key was the fact that the enthusiasm was built up to such a peak, then there was no one to send them in a direction of booking tours or acknowledging where to go, other than pointing to a map. Would the Minister take those types of comments and look into and investigate an opportunity...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the heels of my Member’s statement, I would like to pose questions to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. As we all know, the Minister is well educated in Japanese tourism so I don’t have to go into the value and the dollar amounts that they bring to the Northwest Territories. With all of that said, Mr. Speaker, in brief, would the Minister look at the feasibility of creating an NWT office in Tokyo, Japan? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While in Japan I took a couple of minutes of spare time to go and see the Canadian pavilion. Mr. Speaker, its main theme was aurora. Everything had the aurora logo on it, from its posters to its little hologram cards that say Experience Canada. Incidentally, the only card they couldn't keep in stock was the one with the aboriginal picture on it. They just flew out the door.

Watching Japanese people captivated by the light show with their personal enthusiasm was amazing. You would watch them filter out of the pavilion saying how can I go to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s perspective on that, because it sounds very positive. On a further note, when I was in Japan, I noticed that, speaking to people and I heard from the Japanese people, a presence of Canada and the aurora as a concept has a very low to minimum or, even further, non-existence profile. That is really what I am concerned about. We have an opportunity for a major impact. With all of that being said, would the Minister look at creating maybe a joint working group between industry, Regular MLAs and himself to help maximize our aurora...

Thank you, Madam Chair. At this time, I believe I am moving the last motion. I move that this committee recommends that a comprehensive review of the Elections Act be undertaken by the Chief Electoral Officer and a revised act be presented to the Legislative Assembly for consideration;

And further, that the Plebiscite Act be repealed and that the provisions for the administration for plebiscite and referendum be integrated into the revised Election Act. Thank you, Madam Chair.