Bob McLeod

Thank you. I’d be pleased to do so.

Thank you. The Member is quoting the list that he’s holding in his hand as part of the Devolution Agreement was correct and it had a qualifier on there that this was not the finalized list that will be finalized before April 1, 2014. We’re being very transparent, and subject to confidentiality requirements, we’ll be as transparent as this government has always been. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don’t think setting up an Intergovernmental Council is going to change any constitution or any construct. Members here represent all of the people in the Northwest Territories and, as I said, with the legislation that would set up the Intergovernmental Council. I would welcome input from the Members as to providing input to us in terms of our participation with the Intergovernmental Council. Thank you.

The list that has been identified are those that have securities, proper securities. There are some sites that are very small in nature or have no identifiable contamination that are part of that list that the Member is referring to. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is something that has been negotiated with the Aboriginal governments and we’ve also provided regular briefings to the Members. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The answer is no. It will be strictly a function of land management/land administration and how we can work together to improve how we can both look after the lands. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

That’s correct.

That’s all part of doing business. We have to get the money for houses first. In the past, every time we talked about decentralization, we said, well, we don’t have housing in the communities, we don’t have office space, so we can’t have decentralization. What we’re saying now is we’re not going to hide behind those standards of lack of housing, lack of office space. We’re going to have a plan that will tell you where we’re going to build those houses, and we’ll be able to tell you what positions and programs will be decentralized. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is no provision for cost of living increases. It’s approved on an annual basis.

Those positions were already in Yellowknife, so that’s why they’re here. The federal government, in negotiating the Devolution Agreement, required that those positions would have to stay where they are for at least two years, so that was the deal.

Now, as part of the business planning process going forward, we expect to have a plan within the next six months. Through the business planning process, we will identify what positions and where they will go. Thank you, Madam Speaker.