Bob Bromley

Again, I thank the Minister for that somewhat unrelated comment. Thank you.

I’ll take that then as a yes to my second question. It’s just I have a little less confidence in it.

On the bigger picture, a number of my colleagues and myself have been trying to really emphasize the need for the whole public -- and I’m not talking about the Aboriginal groups here, I’m not talking about people of any particular persuasion -- I’m talking about the entire Northwest Territories to be consulted, residents of the Northwest Territories to be consulted on what we mean when we say sustainable development. What do we mean when we say a responsible land and resource management regime...

I’m wondering, does that mean we would expect an additional supp if we have other Aboriginal partners that sign on during the course of this fiscal year?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks again for the Minister’s comments. I guess I would just ask: will the Minister commit to keeping the House apprised and committee apprised with as much faithfulness as I commit to bringing forward concerns that I hear from the coalition to the Minister? Thank you.

I appreciate the commitment from the Minister. The 238 women and children last year, Mr. Speaker, the major coalition partners like the YWCA Yellowknife, the Centre for Northern Families, Inuvik, Hay River and Tuk shelters, NWT Seniors, Salvation Army and a host of others are our long-established and indispensible leaders and service providers in this area. So why is core funding for multi-year funding agreements for these groups even an issue? These partners are in for the long haul and shouldn’t be made to flounder between annual funding agreements.

So I ask: will the Minister commit to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a society we need to cultivate and promote our strong northern candidates for positions of leadership in education. Through its Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, ECE is placing top priority on improving the academic performance of Aboriginal students, and rightly so. Grade standings, competencies, and graduation rates among Aboriginal students remain unacceptably low in comparison with non-Aboriginal students across the NWT. Here in Yellowknife 50 percent of our students are Aboriginal.

Regional consultations note that strong teaching and program...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 9-16(6), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 9-16(6) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Mahsi.

Just a couple more quick ones and then I want to follow the Minister’s comments up, which I appreciate, by asking for his assurance that he will be referencing the committee reports today and the Auditor General’s comments and principles on P3 partnerships, and making sure that those are well referenced in the model that we finally adopt, and that in fact we will not be going out to private partners and adopting their advice on a model to be followed by this government.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to ask a couple of questions on this project, as well. The $4.2 million being proposed here for this payout brings a total, as I understand it, to about $17.4 million for the Taltson project. These, of course, are all public funds that are going towards an unregulated power project with a partner that has no funds to contribute. Although I believe they did bring some modest, or were instrumental in helping the government bring in some federal dollars, modest though they might have been.

Where are we at in terms of paying those dollars back? Is the project still...

I’m not sure whether the Minister is avoiding the question here or just choosing to give unrelated answers, but I did point out very clearly that I’m not talking about meeting with Aboriginal groups. I see that that’s well identified here. I’m talking about, if you want to call it, a necessary component of negotiations towards a final agreement that is delivered by consulting with the public and developing our common understanding amongst all NWT residents about what we mean when we negotiate for authority for sustainable resource development, resource and land management regimes, and this is...