Bob Bromley

Mr. Speaker, thank you to the Minister for that response. I’m well aware of the Minister’s personal interest in this issue — and appropriately so, of course.

I would also like to know if the government will look into bringing gender-based analysis in on all of the legislation that we contemplate, as well, as a routine matter?

I’d like to recognize Miss Amanda Mallon in the audience today. Miss Mallon is president of the NWT Teachers’ Association and, I believe, also a member on the board of directors for the Canadian Teachers Federation.

Mr. Speaker, women make up 48 per cent of our population, yet they are way under-represented in elected positions, government and industry. While industrial development changes social conditions in the N.W.T., women bear the brunt of the stresses and tensions that take place.

We have an opportunity to take a preventative approach that will reduce these stresses and the long-term costs associated with them.

Women typically have primary responsibility for family and often for community and cultural wellness. Thus, their priority concerns for health and social safety, security, education and social...

I certainly want to start by endorsing the comments of Mrs. Groenewegen earlier in the report from the committee. I’m in full agreement with many of the issues raised there. I think I also see many opportunities to achieve cost reductions and so on through energy efficiency and local production of energy that creates revenue and so on.

Improving capital planning. I think that’s been discussed. It’s well known now that we need a tune-up there, and I heard the government is going to work on that.

I also hear from constituents who are employees and contractors with the government that there’s a lot...

Mr. Speaker, that was exactly the answer I was looking for. I’m sure the people will be pleased. When can we expect this meeting to take place?

I would like to ask that the Minister use his influence here to make this a priority for these people who have waited so patiently for so long. Will the Minister make it a priority? I will have one follow-up at least after that.

I appreciate that offer, and I hope that’s actually a standing offer to all people of the Northwest Territories, all communities. I’m looking for a little extra attention here, Mr. Speaker. We’re only talking 11 kilometres. This is something that’s long overdue. The last piece of work, like I say, lasted weeks or months, and I’m hoping the Minister will commit to meeting — himself with the leaders of Dettah — and getting this road a priority for this government.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Dettah have resided here since time immemorial. They form a community which has seen much change, and they have tolerated much deterioration of their environment: the water, the air quality, the health of their nearby food resources like fish and waterfowl. They are holders of a unique and valuable way of seeing our world. Yet despite this and despite their proximity to the capital, the 11-kilometre gravel road to their community remains as unsafe or worse as the road to Behchoko was before the recent resurfacing of that highway.

The road to Dettah was last...

Mr. Chairman, I also wanted to emphasize that point. I know that certainly a lot of our electronic equipment contributes quite significantly to our landfills throughout the North. It represents toxic waste in a lot of cases. Hopefully that might be addressed in some of the ongoing work through ENR. The degree to which we can reduce unnecessarily replacing electronic equipment will be a benefit to us all in many ways. I for one have never really met the capacity of any computer I’ve ever used, for example, and I seem to hear that a lot from my colleagues. Maybe there are some departments at...

Mr. Chairman, I just noted in the justification here the reasoning for the renovations to the Lahm Ridge Tower that…. Oh, sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself, Mr. Chairman. Excuse me.