Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the summer the Premier told me that he’d like to be the first repeat Premier and he was thinking about running again, he told me.
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Well, you know what? After listening to the way he spoke to me yesterday, he’s certainly not going to get my support unless he pulls up his socks.
When I listened to the Premier’s responses, and I can tell you I received a number of e-mails and comments from individuals in our community; they were quite disappointed. It seems very frustrating when the Premier’s response to the Members, who have legitimate, reasonable questions about trying to solve a problem, trying to do something about a giant problem and the Premier responds by “we don’t respond to single MLAs,” it sort of begs the question: What’s the point of being here asking the government questions if they just sit there, laugh and think ideas from this side of the House are useless? That’s part of the problem. The Premier has never been on this side of the House. He’s had a cushy slide into Cabinet, an easy slide into the Premier’s seat, and he doesn’t know how hard we have to work to get ideas recognized and respected from this side of the House.
I’ll tell you, it really makes me frustrated. It makes the public frustrated. Because when we put legitimate questions on the floor, legitimate ideas that should at least see the light of day, it might not be the right idea, it might not be the best idea, but they’re good ideas and they deserve some respect. Yet he belittles it and plays coy and pretends he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. Well, if he’s happy, I’ll be happy to walk over a copy of my press release. I’d be more than pleased to walk over a copy of my Member’s statement, and if it happens to come to it, I’ll even read and walk him through it.
The only issue I’m trying to bring here today, and yesterday is about the dreams and possibilities of what we can do. We can do anything if we put our minds to it. But we have this guy over there. Let me remind the House of the Premier’s very own words in this House: “The government appreciates constructive advice from Regular Members on all matters,” but that was a little while ago. Maybe they’re just too comfortable over there and start to think that Members, when we’re raising legitimate ideas, they slough us off and don’t care.
Well, he may be a friend of the arsenic, maybe he’s a friend of status quo, maybe he’s a friend of I don’t know what, but I can tell you right now I have not given up on this idea and this idea needs to be taken to the feds and taken seriously.
Nobody in Yellowknife wants arsenic left here. We want it dealt with, Mr. Speaker, and that’s the point I’m making today. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I’m going to remind Members again with regard to the way you’re treating one another in your Members’ statements and replies. I said it yesterday, let’s be fair and work together to get the job done for the people of the Northwest Territories. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
