Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the conditions aren’t met, and there is a time limit to the conditions being set in place, if they are not met, then I will commit, as Premier of the 16th Legislative Assembly, before any further decisions are made on this that I will work with committee members. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. If all conditions are met, then the Government of the Northwest Territories' liability, if we decided for reasons of our own as the 16th Assembly to pull back from that project, the liability can grow significantly if the liabilities or the conditions have been met by the other parties. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the area of the volunteer sector has played a prominent role within the government and a number of departments. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs now has that area of responsibility and the Minister in charge has been working with a number of departments. So there are a number of initiatives that have worked their way into the system, maybe not to the level as groups would like, and if it’s the will of this Assembly that we re-look at that, where it sits, be prepared to review that scenario, I can say now that just because it would sit in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in response to the questions on the 19th of this October, looking at the issues there, as I responded, the liabilities on our government remain the same as long as the conditions hadn’t been made, there’s no final contract on this project when signed. They’re waiting for a number of factors to be settled yet. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Northwest Territories Public Accounts 2006-2007. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the fact is, that is another good question that we are going to have to look at as a new Government of the Northwest Territories. The challenge is how do we come up with the right balance? The Member is right in saying that anybody in public housing, a senior has no rent to pay but a senior who is in an old folks’ home, for example, pays rent, pays a significant amount of rent as well as anybody who is in a level of care that requires other supports from the Government of the Northwest Territories. So somebody who is in a long-term care home, for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the Member will do well for his seniors and the people in his constituency. Those are normal business activities and we’ll ensure that the proper authorities that are in place are making sure that they meet the safety requirements of individuals in your communities. So we’ll get that message sent down and sent down quick. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we know, we have a long history in the Northwest Territories, returning Members as well, and maybe some of us have short memories.

---Laughter

The fact is, even from the 13th Legislative Assembly, the whole area of our package of supports we have out there for residents of the Northwest Territories has been looked at. I recall even back in the 13th Assembly as a Regular Member on Social Programs, the topic of better coordination of our programs was critical because we had elders, those in low income housing, going to four or five different doors in a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we get up to speed of where this is at, I’m prepared to sit down with Members on this and update them as to where we are. As for coming to a vote for this House, that is something that I will take under review. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let’s be clear; the fact is that we have not shut down housing for seniors. We have not shut down housing for those with low income or are on income support. Those are still available to residents across the Northwest Territories. There has been a change in the programming level and that coordination between the Housing Corporation and ECE. We need to have a review to see, in fact, why we are having problems in communities.

As was said across the floor in statements earlier, the fact is we also hear from our constituents in the Northwest Territories....