David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure has reviewed Bill 9, An Act to Amend the Tourism Act, and wishes to report that Bill 9 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had thought I would make it through this sitting in the House without having to speak about the Deh Cho Bridge Project, but, Mr. Speaker, after listening to the Minister of Transportation’s Minister’s statement I am left with little choice but to address that statement.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Minister that we have to extol the benefits that this bridge will bring our residents. However, I also believe that we have an obligation to our residents to give them the straight goods on how we are going to pay for it, what our relationship will be with the community of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Thank you and I know the Minister is committed to seeing this industry survive and committed to seeing it flourish. It is, I believe, a bit of a shame that we’re taking as long as we are. In the real world, in the business world, things move a lot more quickly than they do at a government pace and that’s unfortunate. I’d like to ask the Minister if, and I know he said two or three months, but the only time that I think Members are going to be back here, there’s a bit of a timeslot mid-June and also at the end of June. Can we get maybe a commitment from the Minister to try to get that finalized...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have spoken in this House numerous times about the secondary diamond industry in the Northwest Territories and the fact that it is floundering right now. It is dormant. There is not much happening in the cut and polish industry here. I think a lot of that stems from the government’s inability to deliver a policy so that people know what the rules of engagement are, if they are going to invest in the Northwest Territories and if this government is going to back this industry up. I think it can work, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, I know we had gotten...

Mr. Speaker, the Minister says these things are negative. Mr. Speaker, I disagree with him. It’s reality. He might call them negative. I think it’s reality. And the reality is, Mr. Speaker, this government and every government for the next 35 years is going to have to figure out a way to pay for this Deh Cho Bridge Project. That’s the reality; stark reality, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister, when the Government of the Northwest Territories makes the decision to remove itself from the concession agreement, what exactly does that entail and at what cost to the government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve got questions today for the Minister of Transportation getting back to my Member’s statement and also in reference to the Minister’s statement that he made earlier today.

I’d like to ask, given the fact that the Deh Cho Bridge Project was a partnership originally with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, much of the information for the public and for Members of the House was shrouded in a great deal of secrecy. That’s not the case anymore, Mr. Speaker, as the government has taken on full control of that project. I’d like to ask the Minister how the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great honour and a privilege to stand up in the House today and extol what it means to be a friend of Tony Whitford.

I first met Tony when I grew up with his sons, Blair, Ian and Warren. I played hockey with Blair for a number of years and went to school with Blair. I first knew Tony as a dedicated hockey dad. He was there watching many of our games at the time. It goes back a number of years now. It is hard to believe that time has gone by so fast.

I guess I owe a great deal to Mr. Whitford. If it wasn’t for his retirement in 2003 which provided me the...

Mr. Speaker, my fear is the investment that should come as a result of the new policy, the jobs that should be here, my belief is we might be losing these cut and polish folks who have moved to Yellowknife if we don’t bring in the new policy sooner rather than later.

I’d like to ask the Minister if there’s anything the department can do to try to evaluate if we may lose people, and I’m talking about the cut and polishers that have shown up here in Yellowknife and live and work, or they’re not working now, but live in Yellowknife. Has the department done any kind of study to see if these folks...