Robert Hawkins

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, as long as I don’t lose my first question. I would be more than happy to reword and take back that comment.

Mr. Speaker, I need to seek further clarification from the Minister, the Honourable Mr. Charles Dent, because the phrase gets thrown out there, in regards to how many years this lease may be and I am not really sure. So we need a solid answer to get this fact down. I also hear that the Legal Services Board is satisfied with this space in regards to meeting their criteria of storefront accessibility downtown and centralized. So are we meeting the needs of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise because I have some concerns about some of the questions, about this lease with the Centre Square Mall downtown for the Legal Services Board; however, my concerns are not quite like the other Member. I actually feel completely dismayed by some of the suggestions.

We keep hearing about the 15-year lease, but it is a five-year lease. So I think we need to get some of these misleading facts out there so they are absolutely crystal clear.

Mr. Speaker, I hear that Legal Services Board is satisfied, so my question to the Minister is, could he clarify on the criteria...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Minister. The words positive, standards, centralized and even sometimes the words harmonization of standards of how we implement things and how we run things and coordinate things come to mind when I think of this, but, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister give me an indication as to when he will bring that discussion to Cabinet in regard to the folding in of the NWT Housing Corporation into the greater picture, the greater good of the TSC? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues, especially the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. Mr. Speaker, it is time that we move from a voluntary compliance to a mandatory policy. I would like to see the Minister responsible for FMBS work with the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation to create a mandatory policy where we bring the Housing Corporation into the fold with the rest of the government. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I will have questions for the appropriate Minister later during oral question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the technology services centre, also referred to as the TSC, and their current voluntary compliance with that centre.

Mr. Speaker, since I was elected in the 15th Assembly last year, I have been quite vocal about my support for the TSC. I believe that this position is shared by many of my colleagues here in the House. Today, in this day and age, IT services are absolutely vital in running a government bureaucracy. As everyone knows, it takes up a big piece of our budget.

In the 2004-05 Main Estimates, Mr. Speaker, we spent about...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s been brought up that there could have been other options out there and maybe one of the examples could have possibly been let's put that in the Centre of Northern Families. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be able to say clearly if that could be considered a conflict because of dealing with both sides of the client issue of legal services issues? So could that have been considered a conflict to put it in a place like that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My apologies.

Can you say it again? I couldn’t hear you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I realize persuasion is always a lot nicer than forcing people and I’m not suggesting that the Minister become a leg breaker, but I think this policy needs to be a mandatory policy so we don’t deal with this in the future. I’d like to hear the Minister say today that he will look towards making this a mandatory policy where all departments, boards and agencies get involved. I should say where applicable. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in my Member’s statement today I spoke in favour of the centralized IT service referred to as the TSC. I stated earlier that I think it’s time for the government to implement not an opt-in participation policy, but a mandatory policy for a centralized technical service centre. Pooling our common resources just makes sense. Mr. Speaker, my question for the Minister of FMBS is will the Minister work with the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation to ensure that the Housing Corporation’s transition into the TSC happens this year? Thank you, Mr...