Daryl Dolynny

I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister Abernethy.

Mr. Speaker, what we haven’t heard is a common theme, and that theme is language, and this has been a concern in communities where they feel that the delays in wait time are the barrier of language.

Can the Minister indicate to the House, what has improved with communication in our nine official community languages with respect to breaking down such barriers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Heath. We’ll continue on with Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this fall the NWT Native Women’s Association raised the concern of unusually long wait times for RCMP to respond to calls in various communities. In events of this concern, it was suggested that this was more of a GNWT issue than RCMP. There is such a thing as emergency call logistics, contract services and language barriers. My questions today are going to be for the Minister of Justice.

Currently, the RCMP emergency call system for all communities is dispatched through Yellowknife. This seems to be a frustration point for many.

Can the Minister indicate why is...

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our territory has experienced very limited economic growth in recent years and our maturing diamond mines have reached their end of life cycle. Coupled with the decline in mining, oil and gas exploration, we have seen the NWT decline in investment spending in the last six years. In fact, since our peak of investment spending in 2007, we are down by 27 percent. As a result, our NWT gross domestic product, that is our GDP, has fallen to pre-2002 numbers.

Another way to look at this decline is to look at our mineral exploration, which has fallen from 6.8 percent of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 115-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2015-2016, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister Abernethy.