Floyd Roland

When we initially looked at this to see what package we feel would best suit our needs, we felt the five-year would give us the flexibility in future years that would allow future governments borrowing room, still have room for borrowing. That is why we requested of them the five-year extension or adjustment. Now, we’ve yet to hear back if they will do the full five year and to what limit. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll deal with some of the comments that were made and requests for information and then I’ll hand it over to Minister Michael McLeod to deal with some of the technical aspects of the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and the structures and Associated Engineering, all that side of it.

A number of things that we need to put out in, as Members have said, clear English, plain English for the record for the public of the Northwest Territories, the first one is that, I think Mr. Bromley stated, he’d rather not be here. I’ve heard other Members say that and I share their frustration...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Robert C. McLeod will be absent from the House today to attend the Northern Housing Forum in Inuvik.

I also wish to advise Members that the Honourable Michael Miltenberger will be absent from the House for the remainder of the week to attend to a personal family matter. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don’t believe I responded to that particular question. The area of a government’s outgoing days, the Cabinet, its authority, seeing if there’s an emergency of some nature that always has to be taken into consideration, but I would say that because of a project like this and the nature of what’s happened from it, we would have to get a process, a commitment, that outside an absolute emergency that it be business as usual that would go on and I mean that’s payroll, that’s your programs and services in our communities that are ongoing day-to-day initiatives. So you’ve...

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, number one, the federal Finance Minister, as I worked in the previous Assembly as the Finance Minister in the first year of this government and developed a working relationship with Minister Flaherty, has been very straightforward in the sense of where he’s at when he says that he will work on certain issues with us, he has always delivered. When he says no, we’re unable to do that, he says it right up front and is clear with that. So following that discussion I had with him, the further commitment that I have seen that is evidence of that commitment is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Supplementary Appropriation No. 2, 2010-2011 (Infrastructure Expenditures). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this whole Assembly decides, whenever we pass our budget, just how we deliver services in our communities. One of the things that we heard for many years was that communities needed to make their own decisions more often, much like tax-based municipalities do. So the New Deal that was established that is now into, I believe, its third or fourth year of delivery, that allows communities to make decisions. When you look at base-plus funding, that was incorporated in that so that it helped the smaller communities be able to deal with some of the higher cost issues and you look at our...

The size of our House, we go through the general election and there’s the 25 plus/minus seat structure that’s in place. Again, it’s a standard across this country that we follow. There are a lot of similarities we have with other jurisdictions that have party politics. In fact, the Member has talked about Cabinet solidarity and though there’s is no official opposition, it’s always understood there’s an unofficial opposition, which has worked rather well, I’d say, during the 16th Assembly and other Assemblies in the past. But at the same time, we do need to have a look at how we go forward.

Agai...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the very beginnings can start just as they have with a Member raising the issue of consensus government and our processes. We have touted much about our consensus style of government when we go to other jurisdictions and meet around the issue of consensus government. Many Members from other governments from the opposition parties are very impressed, let’s say, with the ability to gain information from the governing body or Cabinet, so to speak, and share that up front. That also places restrictions on Members when you get that information to hold that in...