Paul Delorey

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Premier, Michael McLeod.

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Before we begin, colleagues, I’d like to draw your attention to the visitors’ gallery to a former Member, former Sergeant-at-Arms, former Minister, former Commissioner, and presently an honourary table officer, Tony Whitford is with us in the gallery.

---Applause

Accompanying Mr. Whitford today is Joe and Sophie Stockal from Wainwright, Alberta, friends for 45 years with Mr. Whitford. They were teachers in the late 1960s in Fort Smith and Inuvik, so Members may remember them from there.

---Applause

Welcome to the Assembly.

Colleagues, we’ll return to orders of the day. Item 17, motions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Colleagues, we’ll return to orders of the day. Item 17, motions. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. Welcome to all our guests in the Chamber today in the gallery.

Colleagues, on behalf of Members, I would like to congratulate Wendy Bisaro on being named the 2011 winner of the Ann MacLean Award for Outstanding Service by Women in Municipal Politics.

---Applause

The NWT Association for Communities nominated Wendy for this prestigious award. We are very pleased to see our friend and colleague honoured for her nearly two decades of outstanding service to her community. And, of course, she continues to serve Yellowknifers at the territorial...

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber, colleagues, as we resume the sixth and next to last sitting of the 16th Legislative Assembly.

---Applause

Although this is a short sitting, I know there is a great deal of work that must be done before we adjourn next week and that you are eager to begin. However, I would like to take a few moments to acknowledge some special events in our Legislature since we last met.

I would like to comment on the recall notice which was originally issued on March 30, 2011, to reconvene the Sixth Session of the 16th Legislative Assembly in early April...

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Good afternoon, colleagues. Welcome back to the Chamber.

Before we begin I’d like to draw your attention to the gallery and the presence of a former Member and the first female Member of the Legislative Assembly. Lena Pedersen is with us.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have on my left Mr. Olin Lovely, director of corporate services, and to my right is Tim Mercer, Clerk of the Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present the 2011-2012 main estimates for the Legislative Assembly.

The upcoming fiscal year is perhaps the most unique in the four-year cycle of the Legislative Assembly. It will be marked by the last five months of the 16th Assembly and the first six months of the 17th Assembly.

This year the Assembly is requesting operational funding to the tune of $18.9 million. This constitutes an increase of just over 9.7 percent compared to last year’s budget of $17.22 million. This year’s increases are the result of several important initiatives.

By far the most...