Bill Braden

The costs of providing childcare in the North are clearly higher than in other parts of the country. The Government of the NWT has been working closely with other territories to hammer out a deal with Canada that would provide adequate base funding to make a real difference in providing this critically needed programming in the North. We have seen the federal government recognize our unique health challenges, such as with the Health Care Accord reached last fall. The Early Learning and Childcare Agreement that has been in place in this government since 2001 serves as a framework for the...

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. When we recognized the clock, I was seeking just a bit more information on one aspect of administration, when it comes to unpaid bills, how and whether these bills -- they could be for services like unpaid water bills or even library fines or parking tickets -- would be put onto my tax bill. I wanted to know that before this transfer to my tax account happened, as a municipal taxpayer/resident, that I would have a chance to address any discrepancy in some kind of organized process. The question that I had is, whose job is it to ensure the taxpayer has a way to get...

So 2010 and out. So, arguably, that is at least five years from now. That’s fine. It gives us a time frame now, so we have some ideas about cost, quantity and time frame.

Mr. Speaker, just about any other major infrastructure project that we hear about anywhere else in Canada or the world, one of the things that goes along with it is the investment in our own backyard if we are getting maximum benefit from this. Now, ATCO doesn’t have a manufacturing centre here in the North, at least at this time. Is it a safe assumption here that this proposal will include big time investment here in the...

Mr. Speaker, to continue with this line of questioning to the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation on the ATCO Novel housing proposal here, it is indeed, on the surface from a conceptual point of view, one of the kinds of legacy projects that we all anticipate could come out of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project. It has great potential. It is one that we should be looking at with all seriousness but, to date, as my colleagues have pointed out, there are some very major gaps in the business planning approach.

Mr. Speaker, I can tell that we are going to have to wear out a few...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was a pretty skinny answer. Maybe I will try it again. This Assembly and government went through considerable contortions to get the budgets passed, enable this to happen because we believed in the idea. We wanted to respond to those communities that were having problems getting teachers and nurses on site in our communities. The Minister has told us that a bunch of professionals are using them. That’s good. It’s great to see them occupied, but has the corporation managed to put together the costs or the availability of these for that target...

Mr. Speaker, the issue is not at all the validity and the decency of this program. The issue is in implementation and fairness, especially to those people in the smallest communities -- and I will say this again -- where the costs are the highest, and they have no choice in this matter. This is not good government. Will the government, in those communities that cannot be served with a depot by November 1st, withhold, defer this program until such time as a depot is available? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, from a consumer's point of view, a pretty critical part of this program, given that I think most northerners want to participate in something that’s going to help the environment, is that if there’s going to be a collection that’s going to start on November 1st, it’s going to take at least 15 cents extra for each container. There should be some way that they know they can turn that in and recover at least part of that fee. My question, Mr. Speaker, is what are the government’s plans for those communities that will not have a depot on November 1st? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to acknowledge the work of the RCMP in Project Gunship, a major sweep in the city of Yellowknife and Edmonton yesterday, Mr. Speaker. It was quite by coincidence that while we were having a discussion in the House yesterday afternoon about community policing, this major exercise, which I understand involves some 50 officers, was unfolding. The information that has been made public so far is that we have seen 29 arrests here in Yellowknife and two in Edmonton. Substantial quantities of cash, drugs and handguns have been seized.

Mr. Speaker, we are constantly...

Alright, I'm not at all well versed in this kind of administration. As a taxpayer, I would like a chance to resolve a dispute over a water bill, library fine or a parking ticket in some kind of process before it would go to that higher level or that second tier, being my tax status. Would setting that kind of thing up or requiring it be a responsibility of the territorial government to ensure it's there, or is that something that each municipality has the jurisdiction to decide on? Is there any kind of clarity there? Whose job is it to make sure I have a reasonable chance to argue my case...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't have any further questions.