Robert Hawkins

I’m not sure what carbon tax has to do with anything on this. My question for the Premier, once again, is: What work has been done to date preparing for the official response to the House on gas price regulation, which the request was to investigate and evaluate that possibility?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize and acknowledge a few people in the gallery. You can never recognize one of our favourite Yellowknife people, who is Mr. Anthony W.J. Whitford. When you read out his bio earlier, I think it alone could have been a Member’s statement for how many titles he has had, but I think you missed one where he is a marriage commissioner as well.

As well, I would like to acknowledge Ms. Lydia Bardak. She is the executive director of the John Howard Society. I would also like to acknowledge, as well as the Premier has, Melody McLeod. I have...

If I understand the process correctly, the feds, in allowing these leases, at present it’s outside of our control and they are following the process until they wish to. They are steamrolling until theoretically April 1st when we take this over.

I am wondering if the MACA Minister sees this as a potential problem for enforcement. I’ve even heard rumours that people are building two-storey cabins or whatever the case may be. Who knows what they are building out there? So I guess there’s going to be an enforcement type of issue that is going to fall on the shoulders of the NWT government, as well...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Mr. Bromley for raising this issue. I certainly wanted to give a first shot at it. I think he did it very well. This problem out there on the Ingraham Trail is not just a problem here in Yellowknife, it is certainly a problem in other regions. The bigger issue here is that it is affecting this region quite hard. One of the issues raised here today was about the relationship with the YK Dene and certainly that this new issue has fallen on their lap.

I want to know what the MACA Minister is doing to help maybe build a relationship with the YK Dene on this...

When I hear the Premier how he feels about this issue, I mean, to be quite frank, I don’t care how he personally feels. But it sounds as if the decision has already been made on that biasness, and there are five provinces who already regulate as very good and simple models.

What type of public input has the Premier gone to beyond his personal feelings, or the government’s feelings, of price regulation? What type of public input on what the people would like on this issue? That’s ultimately the question here is: Is price regulation needed in the Northwest Territories, and is it wanted by...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On February 28th this House passed a motion regarding fuel price regulation, to investigate and evaluate the possibilities of gas price regulation here in the Northwest Territories.

My question to the Premier of our Assembly here is: What has this government done to date in preparing for the 120-day response over gas price regulation for the people of the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise, like my colleagues, to speak in favour of this particular initiative. It’s time that this government moves forward on an emergency health services type of act which outlines what we can do and what we will do for our citizens because they’re important.

In this day and age, it’s a great surprise that we do not have some time of ambulatory act that demonstrates and says that these are the types of services we offer. What we hear today is both the passion and the struggle brought forward by many Members and their communities, where they’re almost helpless, stranded...

Thank you. In the department’s due diligence to get this industry back on its feet, what is the department doing to ensure that this diamond cutting initiative gets done in a timely manner? This project, as I understand it, has been in the works almost a year and they’ve only started signing agreements now. So what is the Department of ITI doing to insist the closure of these deals to ensure we get plants up and working? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment a couple of questions regarding the joint agreement and the development of the diamond industry here. The joint agreement was between Deepak International Limited.

Recently there’s been an announcement about the resurgence of the diamond cutting industry in the Northwest Territories, and I’d like to know what the delays have been from opening these two diamond plants that he’s made a deal with to start cutting diamonds in the Northwest Territories. As I understand it, there have been significant delays. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today I will have questions for the Minister of ITI regarding diamonds.