David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t think we are going to resolve this issue here today, so I would like to ask the Premier if he is committed, before the end of the sitting of this week, to sit down with Members from small communities and put some of these issues on the table and hopefully get the discussions going between himself and Members from small communities. This is definitely affecting the services in our communities, and I don’t think we’re going to be able to resolve it with the present system we have. I would like to ask the Premier for that commitment today.

Mr. Speaker, we have built health centres in our communities. We have built infrastructure in our communities. We have built schools, health centres, municipal offices. Again, the government really knows that by making those capital investments, we expect there will be some services out of those facilities we have in our communities.

I would like to ask the Premier: exactly where is the money, the dollars, going for those communities to operate and maintain those services so that we have a quality or standard of health care services throughout the Northwest Territories for all residents of the...

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know how else to put this. The person is committed. The money is already budgeted for that health centre to operate in regard to its O&M — the cost to operate, the cost of health care — for that community. There are dollars earmarked from this Legislature to run a health centre in Tsiigehtchic.

The community is more than willing to work with the health department to do this, but because the Department of Health or the board in Inuvik, which has 45 vacancies, which they can’t even administer.... They run a deficit.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not too sure how else to put it, but exactly...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve been seeing the decrease in the markets in fuel prices; it’s now below $80 a barrel. Yet in our communities we continue to pay exorbitant amounts for fuel. In Aklavik they’re paying, right now, $1.76 a litre, and it supposedly went up by 3 cents. If anything, you’d think it would have come down.

As the government we also have a responsibility to protect our consumers to ensure there’s not price gouging and to realize that there has been emerging a decline in the price of fuel and the effects it does have in regard to our economy: power rates, operating and...

Bill 14, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act. The bill as a whole.

Bill 14 as a whole approved.

Is the committee agreed that Ms. Bisaro brings in her witness?

For the record Mr. Yakeleya has declared a conflict of interest on this bill.

At this time I’d like to ask the Minister if he’d like to introduce the bill’s opening comments. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Welcome, witnesses. At this time general comments with regard to Bill 14. General comments?

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. At this time I’d like to ask the committee responsible for overseeing the bill if they have any general comments. Mr. Beaulieu.

Bill 16 is now ready for third reading.

Sergeant-at-Arms, could you escort the witnesses out.