Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Okay, so it’s a different… It’s not related to Non-Insured Health Benefits, NIHB.

I know in the past we have been concerned because of transfers, I believe, for these expenses. I believe it’s an annual transfer that we receive and this department is up 8 percent this year and that’s not atypical, and that’s not atypical for hospital and medical care to go up at that rate in the Northwest Territories, yet the federal government only increased their contribution by 2 percent or 2.2 percent per year. This has been, obviously, a bone of contention. That’s a significant...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier, I have to rebut some of his remarks, although I did in my introductory remarks so I won’t go into too much detail here. Again, he talked about Bill C-15 and so on. Again, some of his remarks, unfortunately, were not relevant. A number of half-truths; again, they’re interpretations, and I think I addressed those in my earlier remarks.

I think, just to get to the chase here, bringing forward the crystal clear voices of our public is what this motion is really all about. The issue is our residents have decried the loss of the regional boards and we are in a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS the Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-15, An Act to replace the Northwest Territories Act, to implement certain provisions of the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement and to repeal or make amendments to the Territorial Lands Act, the Northwest Territories Waters Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, other acts and certain orders and regulations to parliament;

AND WHEREAS Bill C-15 will eliminate the regional land and water boards to form a single Yellowknife-based land and water board with only one representative...

Thank you for the details, Mr. Minister, that sounds really positive. Stumpage fees might have been the key there. I appreciate that competitive advantage is working out on paper and hopefully it does in practice.

A wood pellet plant on the South Slave grid would take advantage of our local green hydro power and presumably use local biomass energy for drying the wood before it is pelletized to the extent that it needs to be done.

Has the Minister considered that this would make NWT produced pellets even greener than the pellets we currently import from Alberta and BC?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. I would like to start by noting yesterday we saw the GNWT sign the MOU on industry development with representatives from Fort Resolution. This appears to be a very positive development.

Could the Minister outline what he sees as the next steps in creating sustainable forestry in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT is a fantastic place to live. People that were born here love it and visitors who come for a few days end up spending a lifetime. Yes, some people are leaving, but my sense is that many are leaving reluctantly.

But an increase in population should not be a goal on its own. We should not look at every resident as a cash machine or as part of a funding formula. Rather, a decreasing population is an indicator. It shows we are failing to meet our people’s needs.

First of all, spending to build our numbers by 2,000 over five years is a waste of resources. Most...

Yes, I would very much appreciate that and I realize that that sort of level of estimate would be good. I don’t want to make this too onerous. I’d also appreciate learning how long this situation has existed. When did we enter this agreement that started at the 2.2 percent escalation rate and, also, is this an agreement that expires? Is there an end date to this? Thank you.

Thank you. I think I understand that. Perhaps I could ask the Minister to provide what total additional amount has summed up to over the last decade of additional costs that we are taking on because of the failure of the federal government to transfer payments at the rate that the real world is dictating and we have to suffer.

Okay, so just so I’m understanding this, there are other expenses that are covered elsewhere for these two categories. Is that correct and how do we fund them?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to follow up on that, the hospital care and medical care for status Indians and Inuit, a couple pieces of revenue there. Is that not the Non-Insured Health Benefits revenue contribution?