David Krutko

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Minister’s Statement 1-16(1) and would like to report progress and, Mr. Speaker, I would like to move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

I would like to call Committee of the Whole to order. We have one item to deal with, Minister’s Statement 1-16(1), Sessional Statement. What is the wish of the committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later today I am going to be tabling a petition with 81 names on it. I think 81 names in a community are a lot of concerned individuals. I would like to ask the Minister, in regards to these individuals that have signed a petition making the government aware it is a crisis situation, how soon can he act in regards to ensuring that we do this assessment and we let the public know that we are going to act in regards to this serious issue in our community?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to the issue of the rent supps that are in place, a lot of these individuals aren’t able to access the social housing subsidy that they were able to get prior to this handing over to ECE. It is becoming a problem. Before they were getting the income assessment by way of the housing subsidy, but yet today they are not. I would like to ask the Minister, is he willing to consider doing an assessment of the program in the Mackenzie Delta riding in regards to ensuring that the programs being delivered as it was supposed to through a transitional...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister look at what is the coordination between areas where land use plans have been completed, where the regulatory environmental assessment process is and where areas were called for preliminary screening in regards to those areas where land use plans are compared to those areas where it isn’t? Can the Minister look into that and give me an idea of what the recommendations in regards to the environmental assessment report is and why those recommendations have not been acted on?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my constituent, in regards to the Gwich’in settlement region in the Mackenzie Delta, has completed a land use plan that has been in place for several years. Yet, Mr. Speaker, under the environmental assessment regulatory process, land use planning is a critical component of the decision-making process. But yet, Mr. Speaker, we heard from a lot of other regions throughout the Northwest Territories…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Environment in regards to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, which is the federal legislation that was passed in 1989 and came into force. It is part of the condition of that legislation that calls for an audit to be done in regards to the legislation. It was supposed to be done five years after the legislation was passed. Basically it was concluded in December of 2005, which was seven years after the legislation was passed. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the recommendations that the review...

There is a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is not debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

I will rise and report progress.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition dealing with the matter of public housing costs in Fort McPherson. Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 81 signatures from Fort McPherson residents. Mr. Speaker, the petition requests that the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation change the public housing assessment process and ensure that rent is based on net income as opposed to gross income.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me when he will get around to dealing with the communities in my riding in regards to the Mackenzie Delta in regards to the review that he mentioned?