Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I am hearing is the Finance Minister conceding on most of these tax initiatives. I am really curious about why he is wasting everyone’s time. It seems quite clear on that side of the House that they don’t even think all of these are going to be taken seriously by them, let alone the public. So why didn’t the Finance Minister put the test to committee, one by one on these suggestions, and ask if committee would support these or not? Can I get that answer? Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

Mr. Speaker, we need a program review. Of course, it’s obvious we can’t review all the government all at the same time, but we could start, as other Members have said here, with two or three departments to see how we could achieve business by doing things better. It’s true that not all programs are bad, but let me tell you, a number are working properly.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I don’t want to see us raise taxes just to bail out health boards to the tune of $217 million in write-offs without going to the taxpayer and saying: we tried our very best. We’re not trying our best. Pay attention...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

Now I’m nervous about giving the fire suppression budget too much money, because who knows where it’ll end up.

Would fire suppression money be considered one of those earmarks of dollars that are strictly to be focused in on that type of line item only? Or if there was a surplus, could the fire suppression money be used, say, on Human Resources or maybe jet boats somewhere? If that’s the case, how many months would it take for this Assembly to get notice that the money was used for some other purpose and in what detail?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

I’ll wait until I get that level of detail from the Minister of Finance, and I’ll provide a suggestion after we have that comparison data.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

Sorry. The terminology of “revolving fund” might not be exactly correct. I guess I mean put a fund in place that, for example, we funded to the tune of $5 million. They draw down on that $5 million. A good year means they only drew down $3 million. Then, of course, the normal appropriation process tops it up back to that fund and they draw down to it. The surplus wouldn’t be lost for the intent. It would almost be doing the same thing that we’re doing now. We’re just funding it after the fact, which often causes me to wonder why we bother even budgeting anything under the fire suppression...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I started off in my very first question to talk about how I seem to be so unquoted that it’s messy, I want to ask the Minister what he is going to do to continue to consult. That’s all I was asking. What are you doing to consult with Members as a discussion paper on these tax initiatives before you run out to the public and scare them?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe I have a point of order on the grounds of being called out as misleading the House.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The public is passing judgment today, and they’re saying that these new tax initiatives are the last straw. From what I see, the motto of this Finance Minister is “tax first, ask questions later.” I encourage the Minister to listen very carefully, because you can hear the caravan of people exiting the Territories. If Mr. Miltenberger has his way, that’s what we’ll see.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve had my fill from the public, hearing their concerns about this Minister trying to fix our financial problems with more taxes. They have had it. They’re his ideas, and I’ll...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 34)

Mr. Speaker, now that we’ve clearly defined that power rates haven’t gone down, wouldn’t you think that management bonuses would be tied or reflective of the direction that the rate is going?

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to our Premier, Floyd Roland, who is the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corp. I’d like to ask our Premier today: have the power rates in the Northwest Territories ever gone down?