Bob Bromley

The second thing I wanted to follow up on was — let’s put it this way — the potential increasing conflict we have with the resolution of self-governance negotiations: MLAs that may end up being in a difficult position of basically serving two governments, one officially and one unofficially, when they are beneficiaries of those governments. I’m not levying accusations here or anything. I’m trying to highlight what’s potentially a new and increasing situation we have here.

To me, even a letter of recommendation from an individual — in this case our Premier, who was a beneficiary of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to follow up on a couple of things. First of all, Mr. Aumond, in responding to Mrs. Groenewegen, referred to a clause in the contract that was attached to the letter of award that states that the funds and go-aheads were pending approval or appropriation of funds by the House. I don’t recall seeing a reference to that, actually, or the attachment to that letter of award. Was that a draft contract that was attached, or was something specific there that we could see?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In its recent insightful submission on revenue options to the government, the non-government organization Alternatives North notes that the revenue options discussion paper does not mention the role that services and programs can play in attracting and holding people in our communities.

Coincidentally, this agrees strongly with the tone of the message I received at my Weledeh constituency meeting last week. This message was that while many people are noticing the rising cost of living, they also are still appreciating the incredible characteristics of our jurisdiction...

I certainly agree with the Minister on this. For clarity, perhaps I could say a hypothetical situation, where we have a Minister of Finance who is also a direct beneficiary, potentially, who could benefit from a project being awarded or negotiated with a company….

Interjection.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2006 two fuel spills occurred in the community of N’dilo as a result of old leaking fuel tanks at the private residences of elders. Neither of these elders had house insurance, and the Yellowknife Dene First Nation now faces a bill of $163,000 to remediate the spill.

These spills could easily have been prevented, which makes the environmental and financial costs that much more regrettable. The Yellowknife Dene First Nation has been in contact with the Housing Corporation on two separate occasions over eight months and has not received a formal response to the request...

That’s good for now.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to follow up on the Thomas Simpson and Bompas Elementary schools in Fort Simpson. I know there were discussions about a pellet boiler being considered for replacement there. Has a decision been made yet on that project?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to make a brief comment on the K’alemi Dene School project, which is scheduled for completion this year.

I was down at an event at that school on Friday with the Minister of ITI and can certainly testify that the current school is brimming over with young little people. So it will be very good to see this project completed this year. I’m just wondering if there is a schedule for when K’alemi Dene School will be completed and ready for occupancy.

That’s good news. I can’t help but observe that we’re dealing with the symptoms first here rather than the cause. I think it’s always important to consider that climate change is the cause of many of these things that are draining our capital dollars away, so the more we get on with the mitigation side around the world…. I know we’re working to play our part here.

I also appreciate the water heating idea; I think that’s very good. Obviously, this building does present challenges, and that’s part of what I’m happy to hear we’re grappling with, because that’s a real situation that many of our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you very much to the Minister for that commitment. This, again, is very costly all around if we don’t act. These are disasters waiting to happen. Rather than fiddling while Rome burns, I’d like to see some action. Does the Minister agree that this is an appropriate role for the Housing Corporation to play and that they have a responsibility under these programs to do this?