David Ramsay

Just really quick, Mr. Chairman: $340,000 — I think that would be taken up quite quickly by applications that were received. Some of the concerns by committee members were that the funding that was available wasn't enough.

I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding why we couldn't flow this money because we didn't have enough applications. I think the applications are out there, and there is a demand out there for the money. I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding that rationale.

I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same, because the last government’s Governance and Economic Development Committee found out about the program through a supplementary appropriation. And here we are in this government…. Being the Chair of EDI, this is the first I’ve heard, through this sup, that the funding is not going to be even what we thought it was going to be in January. So again, it’s in a sup where we find out exactly what’s happening. Like I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same sometimes. I am a bit concerned about that, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I just had a couple of questions following up on Mr. Hawkins’ concern. There was a great deal of interest when the program itself was talked about late in the life of the last government. There was also a rush to get a briefing to our committee earlier on this year. I’m just wondering. The rush was because there was a line up of operators and people out there in the Territory that were waiting to get some of this assistance money. So if we are re-profiling it and putting it off, what money is available today for the operators that were waiting to access this funding?

The large pockets of unemployment in the Northwest Territories are located in our smaller communities. I'm wondering if the department and the government could work with communities to identify individuals in the small communities, guys who have skills and the ability to work. If we had a list or some type of avenue that would allow communities to get a list of individuals inside the community who wanted to work, it would make more sense to subsidize the airfare from here to Inuvik or to Fort Smith, rather than back to Newfoundland.

Is it possible for the department to look into setting up...

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. It gets back to my Member’s statement from earlier today, where I talked about migrant workers. According to the last information I have, it’s 3,300 and counting — and these 3,300 migrant workers take with them $350 million per year out of our Territorial economy.

I’d like to start off with asking the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment if the government has a plan to address or mitigate the situation that we’re in today with the 3,300 migrant workers.

One other question. When the payroll tax was first introduced, it was a way to try to get some revenue from migrant workers. It was increased a couple of years ago to 2 per cent.

If a company — a Northern company — subcontracts with a company in the south, and the payroll is paid out of the south, are we not getting the 2 per cent payroll tax? Because the payroll is coming out of southern Canada to these workers who are working in our backyard and not paying the payroll tax. I'm wondering if there is some slippage there.

Specifically, I'd like to ask what campaign? When I gave my Member’s statement, I mentioned a scenario. That was just for construction workers. It wasn't skilled labour we were talking about. Out of the 40 employees, maybe five or six were skilled labour. The rest were labourers being trained, most of them from Newfoundland.

I'm wondering what type of campaign our government has to show industry and these migrant workers that there are communities here in the Northwest Territories that have affordable housing and that are livable.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak today about an issue that continues to cause a great deal of concern and frustration to many Northerners. That issue, Mr. Speaker, is the proliferation of migrant workers in this Territory. The latest numbers put the figure at over 3,300 migrant workers. These out-of-Territory workers take with them over $350 million every year to southern Canada. Not only does this money not circulate in our local economies, Northerners looking for work are being denied access to jobs.

The extraction and removal of non-renewable resources and the benefits which should accrue to the...

I’d like to speak today about where the Northwest Territories is at on the federal government’s agenda. I’m surprised this government seems to be taking, let’s say, a more laid-back approach to devolution and resource revenue sharing, especially given our current financial situation and our desperate need for increased revenue streams. Our Territory has never had such a great demand for investment in transportation, energy, education, housing and community infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, it is a shame the last government could not get substantial infrastructure investment dollars into our...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to comment on the sessional statement. Some of what I’ve got to say today I certainly will be saying more this week and as we go towards the end of session. I think some of it needs to be done as a Members’ Statement or something to that effect or spoken about on the floor here in a formal setting. But I’m going to talk about a few things.

I wanted to start with devolution and resource revenue sharing. And I know the Premier mentions it, actually mentions a Devolution Agreement in his Sessional Statement, but there’s no mention of resource revenue...