Floyd Roland

Thank you. The issue of banking in our communities, we have quite a number of communities across the North that have no formal banking services. So those services are provided by, for example, a community store, a grocery store, an institution within the community. The program we would have is if there are complaints lodged, we would have to look through our consumer affairs part of our government. So that’s the only thing I can offer at this time without further detail and getting the appropriate Minister to respond. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as I know, the Minister of Justice has worked with the community and with, for example, the RCMP and the Department of Justice to support their plan for the backup policy that they have initiated and we have had to implement, which costs us more money through our contract, as well as expand services into those communities that don’t have coverage and work with the RCMP on that initiative as well, because they are in charge of, for example, the capital side. Our contract covers the O and M side. That is something that continues to be something we work with them on to try to expand...

I would say I’ve been apprised the Member of this Legislative Assembly question Ministers of the past about where they put their key staff. I have heard many Members of the Assembly talk about, for example, if we were to put in new positions, that we diversify and go throughout our Territory. I will express the concern to the board as we go through these stages of hiring a new CEO. I will share that with the board. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we have heard from all Members of this Legislative Assembly, including yourself, many stories and the history of Mr. Whitford throughout the Northwest Territories. Indeed on the trips I have been at and he has been a part of, he seems to always know someone in the crowd. That has always impressed me with that ability to speak to people and touch their lives.

There are so many stories. Mr. Miltenberger leaned over to me as we listened. He said, “For all of the stories we have heard and as many of us have heard around this table, he really must be 150 years old or...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

WHEREAS Anthony W.J. (Tony) Whitford was appointed Commissioner of the Northwest Territories on April 29, 2005;

AND WHEREAS Mr. Whitford served as Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories from October 2004 until April 2005;

AND WHEREAS Mr. Whitford was elected by his fellow Members in 1999 to serve as Speaker of the 14th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS Mr. Whitford was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1988 and has served as Minister of Health and Social Services, Safety and Public...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this subject has been raised in this Assembly a number of times by Members in this area that has been brought up today. I know Members were very concerned when the news came forward that, in fact, this program had been sunsetted and there wasn’t going to be a renewal of it. So we’re supportive as myself, as an individual from Inuvik Boot Lake, having two residential schools in our community and seeing both the negative and some of the positive impacts of that. I know that there’s a journey that needs to be completed. So I’m, in principle, supporting this.

I...

Thank you. Since that information is detailed ongoing discussions with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, I’ll have that redirected to Minister Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, we will encourage the chief negotiator to set up a meeting with committee as well as the work that we do in preparation. As our practice is, we will set up some time to sit down with Members to see what positions are being developed and how we should respond to some of those. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the chief negotiator on the regulatory reform file is in the very early stages of his consultation with all governments in the Northwest Territories. We’re going to track that involvement and the work that starts to flow out of it and see where things go from that point of view.

So it’s very early. Again, the meeting that we had was very preliminary and some of the basic sort of steps that are being looked at. We know that all the First Nations and aboriginal groups and governments out there will be paid a visit and we’ll see how they react. In fact, I think this may be a subject...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take the opportunity today to say thank you, on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories and all the people of the Northwest Territories, to Mr. Tony Whitford who has successfully completed...

---Applause

...his term as Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.

The way the Territory is governed has evolved considerably during Mr. Whitford’s lifetime and he has been present to witness much of it. When Mr. Whitford was born in Fort Smith, the NWT was still being governed out of Ottawa by federal bureaucrats. That began to change with the...