Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on March 22nd I got a Christmas present, a little early or it might have been a little bit late, from the Department of Lands. This is a press secretary release saying that there was going to be a media announcement about the leases in there, so this has been a gift that's been given to me ever since then, and I keep on getting questions from my leadership and members in the communities. So this is my question to the Minister of Lands: can the Minister please advise why the media offer was offered to them after our winter session, and not during the winter...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on February 20th, 10 students from TSS, accompanied by two chaperones, travelled to Vancouver to attend the Wisdom to Action, Youth-Led Suicide Prevention Programs conference that was held at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre on East Hastings Street. Conference organizers and contributors included the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Dalhousie University, the Embrace Life Council of Nunavut, and the Canadian Red Cross.

The conference was held over two days, February 21st and 22nd, and many topics relevant to our youth and community were presented and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is Societies Eligibility for the Business Incentive Policy. Would the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment please provide the following information?

It appears that the Business Incentive Policy (BIP) as is currently applied may compromise an incorporated society's right to "have all the powers, rights and immunities vested by law in a corporation," as provided by section 4(2) of the Societies Act. Please explain this possible infringement of a legal right by the Business Incentive Policy.

Some societies carry out small business activities, may...

I thank the Minister for that answer. Mr. Speaker, if a constituent has arrears, does the department have a plan that can help them get in good standings, or is legal action that is threatened in the courts, is that still going to be moving forward?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not going to go onto that lease issue, because we could be here for another year dealing with it, and we would like to get it moved forward.

My next set of questions are to the Minister of Lands, and it's a follow-up from the first set of questions that I had for him when we talk about territorial and Commissioner's lands. It is my understanding that the calculations are different for territorial and Commissioner's lands. Can the Minister explain why there are two different calculations? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Support, I agree. I think that's great. We are looking at office space. Deh Cho has an office space with your government services there. They have an Internet service that is there. You know Internet? They're close to Yellowknife. Like, they're really close. Why won't the Minister look at this and be fair to the Deh Cho, the Nahendeh, and put the positions where they need to be?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be to the Minister of Lands, and it's going to be changing a little bit from what I was looking at doing here. I am going to come back to what the Member for Deh Cho was talking, these positions. So we heard the other side say that we should maybe put the positions in Hay River. Hay River has six, just like Fort Smith, so can the Minister please look at doing this, instead of pitting two small communities against each other, take one position and put it in the Deh Cho? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that answer. So my next question is: how are Commissioner's land and territorial land fees determined/calculated?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been some confusion about Commissioner's lands and territorial lands in my riding and across the territory when you talk to people, and my questions will be to Minister of Lands. My first question is: what is the difference between Commissioner's lands and territorial land? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that brief explanation. My next question, Mr. Speaker, is in regard to the residents who are part of the Dehcho First Nation process of the Acho Dene First Nation process. Does the department recognize this and honour it, and if they do, will they remove the threat of legal action until both are resolved? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.