Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to discuss an issue that touches each and every Member of this House and our constituents and that issue is the exorbitant cost of living in our communities, the single biggest issue facing this Territory. As Northerners, we pay more for everything. My perspective, Mr. Speaker, is obviously Yellowknife based. However, I have travelled to many of our smaller communities and have a solid understanding of the cost of living outside of Yellowknife and how these costs are affecting the livability and social fabric of our communities.
Mr. Speaker, it is little wonder why I am so concerned over the status of the Deh Cho Bridge and the potential to increase the cost of living here in the North Slave region and all the communities that are serviced by air out of Yellowknife. A constituent of mine has recently started a Facebook group rallying support against the high cost of living here in Yellowknife. If we wonder why people are leaving, we don’t have to search very far for answers. It is the high cost of living. Home heating fuel, gas, power, water, food, rent, home prices and taxes are all sky high.
Interestingly enough, Mr. Speaker, at the onset of this government, Cabinet decided that it would develop specialized Strategic Initiatives committees to deal with the variety of government priorities. One of these committees was the Strategic Initiatives committee to deal with none other than the high cost of living. We are 27 months into the life of this government and I can recall only one update coming from this committee in the time that we’ve been here. Given the importance of this issue, it is very hard to understand why the work being done by this committee is being kept under wraps. Regular Members are in the dark, the public is left wondering what this government is doing to alleviate the high cost of living. Is any work actually getting done, Mr. Speaker? Where is the lead Minister of this strategic committee in addressing the high cost of living, Ms. Lee? How is she showing both Members and the public that this committee is advancing any meaningful ideas? Quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, she is invisible on this very important watch and I will have questions for the lead Minister on the high cost of living at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the gallery today to the presence of our Conflict of Interest Commissioner, Mr. Gerry Gerrand, who is with us today.
---Applause
