David Ramsay

I know we should always have the best interests of the children at heart. What strikes me most in the current legislation that’s in place — the federal legislation and the federal Divorce Act and the Family Orders Act — is the fact that in many cases it’s an adversarial type of arrangement, and oftentimes one parent’s money is good enough but they aren’t. I think that’s a discussion or debate we might have here as soon as tomorrow, and it’s a discussion that’s happening around the world: equal, shared parenting and a move towards that in the best interest of the child by having both parents in...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question under clause 16. Can Maintenance Enforcement garnishee an individual who is on income assistance or receiving EI payments?

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Actually, it's okay. I've found it. I'm fine. Thanks.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to follow up on that. All those programs that the Minister talks about are good. We’ve also had a discussion in this House about a biomass strategy. If you get up to a level of $30,000, that’s a substantive amount of money that would allow homeowners to look at wood pellet technology and at switching over.

All I’m looking for is a commitment from the Minister — and it sounds like he has given that — to take a look at the programs offered in the Yukon and maybe relate those to our situation here, and to include those in a discussion when we’re developing a biomass...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to use my Member's statement today to speak about yesterday's proceedings in regard to third reading of Bill 8 for the 2008–2009 budget.

As Members are well aware, the last four weeks have been a real battle between the Regular Members and Cabinet. We have moved an historic number of motions during our budget deliberations, and yesterday was the culmination of all of our efforts.

The budget is not perfect, but we were able to minimize job loss and get the message out to our constituents that consensus government can and does still work. Our Premier...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move to report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to comment, if I could, on the suspending of driver’s licences for individuals who are in default of maintenance payments. The bill will pass, and it’ll go ahead, but I wanted to get my comments on record anyway. I do believe that even though individuals owe maintenance payments we shouldn’t be so heavy-handed as to suspend a driver’s licence, especially when in some cases that parent has access to their children and needs to pick them up, drive them to soccer, drive them to hockey, and it’s 40 below zero outside.

If somebody’s fallen on hard times, I think...

I think that, for individuals who find themselves in a position where they can’t pay maintenance and they’re receiving EI payments, there should be something in this legislation here in the Northwest Territories that protects those individuals. They’re on unemployment insurance; they’re not working. I’m not sure how they could sustain their household or what they have. What we’re going to do by garnisheeing unemployment insurance is drive people into the homeless shelter. I think what we need to do is come up with a clause in here that suggests that we’re not going to do that to people. I do...

Mr. Chairman. I have with me Mr. Ian Rennie from the Department of Justice and the Clerk of the Assembly, Mr. Tim Mercer, to my left.