Joe Handley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the leaders across the Territories that I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and that’s everybody from chiefs and mayors and so on, to Nellie, to Fred, to Frank, to all the people up and down the valley and in Yellowknife, Mayor Van Tighem and everyone.

I want to thank the people in Weledeh in particular. I hope I have not disappointed you over the past eight years. I think there’s been great improvements in the very diverse, very dynamic and very vibrant constituency.

My friends; my old friend Michel Paper, I have to mention him. He’s a great man...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wasn’t going to say anything today either because I’m not good at saying goodbye, but I, like Mr. McLeod, didn’t want to be the odd man out and this would be pretty obvious, especially after he said that.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, almost eight years ago I decided to leave my job as a deputy minister after 14 years and run for office to represent Weledeh. I used to joke, I said I did it because I wanted the food, because I heard that these people ate shrimp and all sorts of things in here.

---Laughter

So I found out that that really wasn’t worthwhile. So I said, well, I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories and across Canada have fought long and hard to have their aboriginal rights recognized. It is important that all governments, including ours, do their part to recognize and uphold these rights. This means the GNWT must consider how decisions we take might infringe upon our asserted or proven aboriginal or treaty rights.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform this House we are formalizing the GNWT’s government-wide approach to consultation with aboriginal governments and organizations as an expression of our...

Can I seek consent to conclude my statement? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in early July we heard the sad news that a young northerner had lost his life in Afghanistan.

Corporal Jordan Anderson, of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, Alberta, was born in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and raised in Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik, Northwest Territories. He was stationed in Afghanistan where his regiment operated to ensure the safety of local people. On July 4th, a roadside bomb detonated under a vehicle Jordan was riding in and he was killed.

Until that time, the war in Afghanistan seemed a long way away...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to speak briefly to the motion. Let’s take a little look back at history. You know, we go back, we’re either the eighth or the ninth Legislative Assembly to debate whether there should be a bridge or not. It goes back in to the ‘70s. In the 1970s, $6 million was too much to build the bridge. When it was $50 million, $75 million, it was always too much and today it’s too much in people’s minds, but we can’t keep debating these things forever. We have to move ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I want to provide a little bit of background just on this project and point out...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have considered this motion. There is a process in place for selecting a new chairperson. Mr. Rodgers’ position doesn’t expire until after the life of this government, I think it’s October 12th or 9th. We have checked with the Workers’ Compensation Board to see if there are any reasons with regard to quorums, workloads or activities that had to go on before the new government would be officially in place. There was none. So, Mr. Speaker, we find it very difficult to reach into the next government’s responsibilities. Mr. Speaker, in spite of that, because it’s a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to recognize Marvin Zaozirny, a resident of Weledeh, an active community member and a recently retired DOT employee from our airports section. Welcome.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, yes, she can take my answer to mean that we will not let this one drop. We will see if there’s another way of helping this group. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have taken this issue up with the Department of Public Works who are responsible for the government warehouse, which is the facility the ministry was interested in. I want to acknowledge first the good work that the ministry does with young people and the efforts they’ve made on this skateboard park idea and King of Kings competition that they’re putting on. Mr. Speaker, it’s all good work for young people.

Unfortunately, when we took a look at the government warehouse then, there were several issues; the primary one being just space. There just was not the space...