Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I heard the Premier say he will respond to my recommendation and get us out of the fossil fuel business. The science is clear. It’s peer reviewed in the most prestigious science journal we have globally. Yet, the Premier is pursuing fossil fuel development in his expensive travels about the world and so on.

Will the Premier, in fact, shift the resources? I believe looking at the budget we have about $5 million in fossil fuel development. Will he shift those resources in pursuing a sound and sustainable economy that’s based exclusively on renewable energy? Mahsi.

Thank you to the Premier for that response. I will share some of those resources with the Premier and, hopefully, Cabinet. My colleague mentioned February 13th Divestment Day. I’m sure the Premier has heard that many billions of dollars have been divested away from fossil fuels around the world. It’s a bit of a movement from people recognizing the extreme degree of action that’s required. The Rockefellers and so on have divested their interest in fossil fuels.

Will this government recognize that sort of thing and bring that into their thinking? The science clearly says that we must be moving...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize the lady in the pink house, the irrepressible Gail Cyr, a resident of Weledeh. I also appreciate very much the work that’s being done and the people who are attending the school. So, hats off to the Status of Women Council staff. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, colleagues. Recent articles in the prestigious Nature science journal show that in order to salvage even a 50 percent chance of stopping dangerous climate change, as mentioned by my colleague Mr. Nadli, most of the untapped fossil fuels worldwide need to stay in the ground. Specifically, 80 percent of known coal reserves, 50 percent of gas and 30 percent of oil reserves must be left untapped over the next 40 years to keep to the internationally agreed upon limit of a two degree increase in average global temperature.

With additional study and taking into...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for Minister Miltenberger and Finance. I have questions about the P3 contract we are proposing for the retrofit of Stanton Territorial Hospital.

I am worried that it may not be the best deal for the people of the Northwest Territories. Research indicates that failure rates are high, that they amount to a huge transfer of tax dollars to private financers, and buyout of P3s are becoming more common. Because it’s politically expedient to defer expenses and avoid debt, the government is essentially renting money rather than borrowing it more cheaply on...

I appreciate the Minister’s response there. The artist community and the public, indeed, hugely appreciate the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre’s display of art, both from within and outside the NWT, but of course, it’s woefully inadequate for the need. That’s well recognized by Prince of Wales as well as the arts community and the public. The arts community, which is a diverse one, with dozens of genres representing the various forms across the NWT, their focus varies and their voices are diverse.

The conversation acknowledging the need for an arts hub, a centre that can provide both...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment as the lead on the arts.

The NWT, as we know, is blessed with amazing artistic talents. Every jurisdiction in Canada has an arts centre with their artisans, and public can enjoy art from the perspective of both the artist and the citizens. The NWT does not. Artists in the Northwest Territories have extremely limited options for the display of their finished work and very few options for collaboration and learning.

Has the Minister been hearing what I have been hearing? Is the Minister aware of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this motion. I would like to just put out a few points, some of which may have been presented already by my colleagues and I think they have done a great job at listing many of the benefits.

First of all, would an ombudsman impinge on an MLA’s work? This has been something that I’ve thought about for quite a while, and I have concluded today, no. MLAs are adept at seeking the best support for their constituents. They will quickly identify the ombudsman as a critical tool, a critical arrow in their quiver when needed, but also Cabinet, I believe, will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the Minister has a vision. Again, some specifics would help us get on board with that.

What are the checks and balances in response to these challenges that are out there? If there is a fair chance that this P3 initiative will fail, based on vast experience nationally and internationally, as we saw with the Deh Cho Bridge boondoggle and so on, but most notably with the building and retrofitting of hospitals in other jurisdictions such as Ontario, what is this government going to do? What is this government doing to ensure we have the fiscal capacity to...

Thanks for the Minister’s response. I’m sure all the other jurisdictions that have had such failures have similarly done the analysis and so on. A 2012 study of 28 Ontario P3 projects worth more than $7 billion found that public-private partnerships cost an average of 16 percent more than conventionally tendered contracts. That’s mainly because private borrowers typically pay higher interest rates than governments. Transaction costs for lawyers and consultants also add about 3 percent to the final bill, and of course, private financiers are looking for a large return on their investments.

Speci...