Bill Braden

I deserved that, but I will try to forge on here. Mr. Speaker, it has been a long four weeks here, a productive four weeks. We have all had a chance to deliver our messages and I would like to return to the one that I believe is very, very high and should stay way up there on the priority list of this Assembly and especially this Cabinet, it is about the theme of housing.

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I have a bit of a message here. Members might be familiar with the tune and they are more than welcome to join me in this.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, appreciate any Member's contention that there may be a point of process and an interference with the public's access to what we are doing here. In this case, I do not feel that we have breached that trust.

The purpose of the bill, when it was introduced last fall, was quite clear to me, Mr. Speaker, that it was designed to be a survey, if you will, or an inventory of all of our legislation to catch the areas and definitions regarding spouses or references to particular genders that would not be consistent with Canadian law, and we are compelled to follow that....

Thank you, Madam Chair. The timing was indeed the topic that committee spent the most time exploring. In listening to Mr. Zoe’s point about more public consultation, I think that, with the efforts that were made, I don’t know that we would generate a lot more. I think there is a very broad acceptance of a fixed election date. Now, I think people are expecting us to work out the one that is the best for the most situations. Madam Chair, I would speak in favour of the motion, personally.

As Mr. Roland and I have had two elections now in the front end of winter, I don’t relish the thought of...

Mr. Chairman, I guess I am surprised, quite surprised, if I hear the Minister right that we make no attempt whatsoever to get the best deal we can from suppliers where there is a competitive private market. Did I hear that right?

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I will support this motion. I am sorry, supporting this bill. It is an area that I was involved in, in the last Assembly, Madam Chairperson, when this Assembly amended our adoption laws to legalize the adoption rights and responsibilities of a couple if they are of the same sex and recognizing how we are to manage and set laws for adopting children.

At the time, it was made quite clear that if we were to take that step, as we did, there would be further consequential changes to many of our other laws, which also needed to reflect the new definitions. There are...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think Mr. Ramsay has raised a flag on many of the same concerns or issues that I had with this. I am not going to object to these. This is a consequence of running our government as much as any businessperson or homeowner faces a consequence of keeping the fuel tank topped up.

I guess one area that I might ask about and I hope I am not duplicating something Mr. Ramsay has asked about, but are we trying to contract or buy forward with any of our fuel supplies, for any of our communities or major departments or do we more or less buy the fuel as and when needed at...

Mr. Speaker, what does the Minister see as the biggest barriers that we face in terms of trying to turn this really shameful statistic around? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That’s what I’m trying to get a handle on. What I’m hearing is through the social programs Minister you’ve identified a problem and you’re taking what appears to be some really proactive action on it. Is this something that through the course of the year you’ll be able to come back to, say Social Programs committee, and see where to go on this? I guess, Mr. Chairman, if we’ve identified a problem and we’re starting to address it how are we going to be able to manage it? Or is this just the start of another social dependency that even though we recognized it for...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Statistics over the last few years, Mr. Speaker, have shown virtually no change in our rates of children living in low income situations, so I would like to ask the Minister responsible for these programs in our government, Mr. Dent, a pretty straightforward question. Why does child poverty persist here in the NWT in the midst of so much activity and so much wealth? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Indeed I think committee is familiar with the process. It’s fairly complex and a big piece of work. I guess I’m wondering, should we anticipate further financial consequences or is most of the work remaining of a procedural nature? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.