Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act, on August 22, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly building. Although the committee received no public submissions on the bill, the committee is aware that the operations of the Northwest Territories rental office has recently been of interest to our colleagues in the House and to our constituents. We look forward to improvements in the services Northerners receive at the rental office. Individual Members may...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that answer. What I will be doing with these answers is I will actually be putting them in my newsletter and sharing them with the communities out there so that people are better informed. I am not saying that they are not informed from the staff out there, because they are doing a good job, but just sometimes communications get lost in the woodwork.

In looking at students' travel, is the department staff given some flexibility to work with students to help them get down to their chosen school as long as it's within the budget log? In other words...

I thank the Minister for his answer. I do have to agree that SFA is one of the best ones in the world. I was lucky enough to be part of it, as I went to school down south. However, there are some concerns, and there are still some challenges for parents and students to understand this. My next question is: can the Minister explain how the travel is calculated for students outside the regional centres, i.e., some of my small communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak about a constituent and respected elder who recently passed away this summer, Tommy Kotchea. Tommy was born on July 11, 1937, and was raised in Fort Nelson, B.C., where he met his wife Helen and moved to Sambaa K'e.

Tommy began to work for the RCMP as a special constable at the age of 19. At the time, Tommy was one of the few individuals who was fluent both in Dene Zhatie and the English language. As a result of this, Tommy travelled with the RCMP to do the translations. For 10 years he was the only translator to travel with the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 30: Health Statutes Law Amendment Act (Cremation Services) on August 22nd, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly's building. During its review of this private Member's bill, the committee received one public submission, a letter of support from Ms. Janice McKenna, owner and director of McKenna Funeral Services in Yellowknife. Committee is pleased to support this bill. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, in speaking with the communities, they were talking about the permitting process and challenges they were having. Can the Minister commit to having his department work with the community to get the necessary paperwork done so they have a permanent place so they can do work in the near future?

I thank the Minister for his answer. Can the Minister confirm if he spoke to the chief directly any time before or during or after this situation to discuss it and come up with a possible solution before it has to go to court?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak about a member from Fort Simpson who recently passed away, Mrs. Marilyn J. Lee. Marilyn was born and raised in Trail, B.C., before coming north and calling it home. In her early years, Marilyn quickly picked up the art of cooking from her mother. Her passion for cooking and adventurous spirit brought her north.

Marilyn moved to the community of Fort Simpson in 1986, after spending the previous five years as a camp cook at the military base in Inuvik. In Fort Simpson, Marilyn served as a cook with the kitchen staff at the Fort Simpson long-term...

I thank the Minister for his answer. I was actually quite disappointed that the Minister didn't actually talk to the chief before this got out of hand, but we're happy to hear that it's moving forward. With this situation taking place, has the department learned anything from this situation so we don't have to take a local government to court in the future?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past winter a situation occurred when one of the communities that I represent, and we all heard it in the news, the Nahanni Butte Dene Band were doing some work on an old logging road. Unfortunately, the situation led to them being taken to court. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Lands explain what arrangements were made to have this injunction lifted? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.