Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, I want to make it clear, our milk is no longer free, so stop taking it, federal government.

---Applause

It’s time to marry the cow into a real agreement.

---Laughter

Until the federal government gives the Northwest Territories our share of resource revenues, until they invest into our protected areas, the Northwest Territories isn’t prepared to risk our beautiful environment to become what one environmental group called us, “America’s gas tank.”

Not Miss Lee. I hope that’s not misleading.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I’m just going to provide a comment. Recognizing how billings changed in the sense of elements they get more sophisticated. The fact that you have to move so much air, the fact that we’re basically talking about hard costs, fuel and electricity, I mean, things change. So I don’t know what more to say other than the fact that it’s a bit of a surprise. Maybe we should be asking the Minister to provide us the accounting mechanism used, rather than complaining about the fact that the number is wrong...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I may remind us all again, in 2002 we had almost $35 million outstanding. Of course, by the time that got paid out, we had to have a 10 percent holdback. As I’ve said earlier, in 2003 we had $25.4 million held back. Mr. Speaker, we’ve had the same Member of Parliament since 1988 with the Liberal Party. She’s been in Parliament. She’s been consistent. That would be the Honourable Member Ethel Blondin-Andrew. Since 1992, Mr. Speaker, it’s been the same government in power. So that’s a lot of years, Mr. Speaker. So my question is to the Minister of Health...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise with questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I’m going to bring to his attention the tabled document 2004 Report from the Auditor General that was tabled last week. Mr. Speaker, I read section three the other day and I was quite surprised -- which would be no surprise, I’m sure, to that Minister -- by the fact that the territorial government is bankrolling some of the responsibilities of the federal government to the tune of for the year 2003 almost $25.4 million for services that the federal government is responsible for. The...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is not a new issue. Mr. Speaker, it is time to get this job done. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what we need to do as Regular Members or as a Caucus as a whole. Do we need to put barricades on the road and say no more resources out of the Territories until we settle some of these basic things? Does the Minister need a commitment from all Members to put forward a motion to get the support? What does the Minister need to get done in order to get his job done at the federal level? We need that money. It is time that we stopped bankrolling the federal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear the actual number, so I suspect that will be a commitment to follow shortly, of course. Mr. Speaker, if I may entertain this a little further, noting section 3.4. This is an item noted many times by the Auditor General. We follow yearly agreements that have to get negotiated and when we finally get an agreement in place and money paid, they still hold back 10 percent. Mr. Speaker, is the Department of Health and Social Services working on an agreement so we get this done on a timely basis? Sometimes we have to wait over a year to start getting our money...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today because of an event that happened yesterday. The subject that I am going to talk about is certainly no stranger to this House. The sad thing is that it never gets enough air time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk today about the unsung heroes of this Legislative Assembly. Their names never get on any plaques. We never really talk about them very much. They never ever get paid. They very rarely get mentioned under any circumstance. Mr. Speaker, they are the backbone of every politician. Mr. Speaker, what I am really talking about is the commitment our...

Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question to the Minister is would he be willing to provide all Members a full briefing note on the process and maybe clarify any misconceptions and whatnot in paper to all Members? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I see it, as we were fighting for legal aid earlier in the year, the fact is we couldn’t deliver the service because we didn’t have the place to send them to get the service. So I think, in my view, that this service is being met. Now because there have been concerns about the fact that the other two tenders, tenderees if I may call them that -- I don’t know what they are called -- contractors who wanted to bid on that space, didn’t have a chance to appropriately put in a proper bid. So I guess my question is regardless of someone being late or not late, on time...