Bob McLeod

Thank you. As we reviewed the business plans, we had made that commitment, that when we reconvene in the fall, we will have all the information available to allow us to make some decisions, establish some criteria and we will be doing inventories of all of the available housing, available office space throughout the Northwest Territories. We have asked our deputy ministers to identify opportunities for decentralization and, obviously, we have to take the employees into consideration and we will be looking at reviewing our Affected Employee Strategy to make sure that the best interests of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think at one time the Legislative Assembly had a rule of thumb that before any positions were established in Yellowknife, there would have to be a comparable position established elsewhere. I think in this Legislative Assembly we make the rules, so it would be up to us to decide. Personally, I think that you put the positions where it makes the most sense to have them located. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment before we all leave for the summer to reflect on our accomplishments as a Legislative Assembly over the past few weeks.

This has been the first extended working session of the 17th Assembly. It has been a long session, especially at this time of the year, but we have done some important work together.

One of the most important things we have done is passed the budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. As an Assembly, we have agreed to a vision of strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally...

Mr. Speaker, this Assembly is committed to sustainable, vibrant, safe communities and to taking action against family violence. Homes should be places where strong individuals and families support and love each other. All people have the right to live free from the fear of violence in their own homes and communities.

But we have challenges. The Northwest Territories has the second highest rate of family violence in Canada and we know that many incidents are never reported. This is a territorial tragedy. It affects every community. Many of our people live every day in fear.

With the release of...

As a matter of fact, that is the very reason why we have a Reducing Red Tap Initiative that we’re doing through the Refocusing Government Cabinet committee. In most cases, these disaster funds, the only requirement is that they be acts of God or natural disaster. For the Harvester Fund, you have to show that you have actually earned some revenue from hunting and trapping.

Thank you. We have committed to doing that and we’ll be doing exactly that when we convene in the fall. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating the recipients of the 2012 Premier’s Awards. The Premier’s Awards for Excellence and the Premier’s Collaboration Award are presented annually to individuals and teams for their outstanding service to the Government of the Northwest Territories. As well, I am pleased to confirm the second Dave Ramsden Career Achievement Award was presented.

This year’s recipients are from a range of departments across the public service, engaged in a variety of work that improves the lives of the residents of the Northwest Territories...

That was our intended approach.

I might add that I was invited to attend a Northern Lights Conference in Ottawa where it was organized by Nunavut, Labrador and Nunavik. The reception they had was very well attended by federal Ministers. There were about 20 federal Ministers in addition to the wife of the Prime Minister. We’re hoping to have the same kind of attendance from federal Ministers when we organize our NWT Day.

At this time we do have a person in the Ottawa office. We are looking at increasing our presence in Ottawa and we’ll be looking for support to get additional resources to a higher level position.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to recognize the following very important visitors from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Commissioner Marie Wilson; Frank Hope, northern regional liaison; Jeannie Maniapik; and Lucy Yakeleya.