Brendan Bell

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, we will talk to the committee, as I have mentioned. Obviously, we would prefer that the people entering the park use other means that weren’t as disruptive. I understand that the Premier and the Member were on horseback. I applaud them for that. I think that is a very good step. I also understand that there was some walking going on, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

That is a rumour. Yes, we will take a serious look at this. There will be a response and some follow-up and I will get back to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am glad the Member has brought this to my attention. I am not sure what measures are in place for protection now. I guess interim protection until the park is established. I will enquire about that and we can have that discussion with the committee. I take the Member’s point. We want to make sure that we are protecting that very fragile ecosystem. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a Yellowknife South resident, Amy Hacala, in the gallery. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 34(6) to allow Ministers’ statements filed with the Clerk to be delivered today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize another student with the AFS Interculture Program, but also thank Mr. Braden for his volunteer work with this organization, hosted by the Wetmores in my constituency. There is Hiu Ying Lau. I have been getting some coaching from Member Hawkins who tells me that Lai Hoa means hello. So, hello.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wasn’t aware that there was a concern with the crush of number of people trying to get in and register their firearms. What I will do and propose to do is, the minute we are finished here in the House, I will call Stockwell Day’s office, the Minister responsible for Public Safety, make the case, let him know that we are having difficulty here and appeal to him to either find some way to extend this or put more resources into accommodating the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we would be prepared to sit down with committee and talk about legislative priorities. It is not something the committee has raised as one of the top priorities of the government from their perspective. So we have a number of legislative initiatives that need to be undertaken. There are a number of things that we need to do and know we can’t get done in this government. As I have indicated, there is some past history here. For cost-saving measures, we have moved away from this. Locksmithing is a trade. It is not a certified trade yet in the NWT. It was pulled together with...

Mr. Chairman, thank you. I'd like to add my thoughts and also indicate that I won't be supporting the bill at this time. I think there is some merit to having this debate about the updating or the amending of this provision, and we've had this discussion at Board of Management. My feeling, though, is that the debate would be better held by the 16th Assembly's Remuneration Commission. Every four years we do strike a committee to look at Members' benefits and pay, and while I don't believe this provision was considered by the last committee, it could very easily be considered by the next...

Mr. Speaker, I am able to do that. We can do that. We have a number of discussions, some of them formal with committee, some of them informal at a body like Caucus, where we discuss legislative priorities from time to time. There are many avenues that this could be raised to our attention, but I will take the Member’s suggestion on the floor of this House. We will pass this on to the next government. Thank you.