Robert Hawkins

Thank you. This motion is not about devolution itself, it’s about what to do with the resource revenue after the Devolution Agreement has been signed and resources finally start flowing to the Northwest Territories.

If we don’t start providing some guiding principles, whether we call them pillars, whether we call them ideas, if we don’t start providing these, in typical and usual fashion, our Cabinet will find new ways and define it as invest the money under the guide of government priorities all built under their own guidance. This motion helps Members guide where this revenue is going. On top...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise with great pleasure on this particular issue. As Member Dolynny has pointed out, a few years ago I raised this issue as well. But you know what? I only sit on the shoulders of others to help try to carry the issue forward. With that, I’m going to thank Mr. Dolynny for hoping this time that we nudge it across the goal line. He’s taken on this issue with some new emotion and new fervency in the sense of zeal that I hope it carries it across that line.

I am not sure what seems to be the issue with government realizing on how important something like this motion can...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent once again, to try to return to item 8 on the orders of the day, oral questions. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent denied

Hope and pray cannot be the policy of this program at the Department of Health, that we hope nothing has happened to the information, we pray no one does anything to the information. So the fact is we don’t know where the information is going.

Does the Minister know what’s happening in this situation and what is he doing about it, because apparently he doesn’t seem to be taking it very seriously that all this personal information is being sent out there, no one knows where it’s going, no one knows where it’s landed, no one knows who has it and they don’t certainly know what they’re doing with...

Well, let’s get to the bottom of this then. The Minister cannot tell us where the information has gone, who has got it, what the problem is and what he is going to do about it. So how does he know it’s not a scandal if he doesn’t know what’s happening? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize the flood of seniors we have here today, recognizing the day it is. From the NWT Seniors Society, we have Barb Hood, executive director; Carly Aasen, project intern officer; Yvonne Quick, who is a program coordinator as well as an Arctic ambassador. Maureen Hall, also known passionately as Squeak, of course, is president of the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society. Marg Green is a member of the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society. We all call her Nana Marg, by the way. June Van Dine Arden is a board member of the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society. Kim Doyle...

Well, certainly the fact that we had that Freudian slip on the record, I’m going to say that, quite frankly, I agree with Minister Miltenberger about this and the characterization of slush fund, because the reality is, it is a Cabinet slush fund. That’s the fact. I mean, the Cabinet doesn’t want to call it a slush fund because they have all the money at their fingertips.

The fact that when we had to ask for a $3 million adjustment to the budget just here a few months ago, they went kicking and screaming and complained, oh, woe is us. The Members try to have some influence on the budget and they...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories is considering signing a Final Agreement on Devolution of Lands and Resources in the imminent future;

AND WHEREAS the agreement, if signed, will result in new resource revenues accruing to the Government of the northwest Territories beginning in 2014-2015;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories has committed 25 percent of ongoing future resource revenues to Aboriginal governments;

AND WHEREAS it is desirable that there be public transparency and accountability in where the remaining 75 percent of resource...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to table a document. It’s an illustration regarding the allocation of new resource revenues. I’ll be drawing attention to it later today during a motion. It needs to be before the House.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 8 on the orders of the day, oral questions. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent denied