Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 84-16(4), Supplementary Appropriation (Infrastructure Expenditures) No 1, 2010-2011, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 84-16(4) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So for the benefit of the folks at Avalon, for the Premier of Saskatchewan, for the public, for those of us in the South Slave who would like to see such an amazing economic opportunity come our way, for all intents and purposes, would the Premier state that Mr. Voytilla’s comments in the media are formally retracted? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I didn’t really hear any answer. I guess the Minister said she doesn’t know why the number of placements required, what’s kind of contributing to that need for specialized services in southern Canada. I’m glad to hear that the department is keeping a close eye on that, not that we want to deny or deprive anybody of specialized services if that’s what they need, but when you look at the cost of care and these costs can be anywhere from $250,000 to $450,000 per client per year, and you look at that over the course of a person’s lifetime as an adult, if there’s no change in their conditions, I...

Mr. Speaker, I can’t, of course, quantify what kind of damage might have been done by that very blunt and categorical dismissal of the opportunity to provide power at a rate that would be competitive enough to see this processing take place here in the Northwest Territories. But, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier if he could advise those who are in positions of leadership in these organizations, which are really the, you know, it’s really the role of the shareholder in these types of things to be the spokesperson, if it’s possible for the Minister to communicate to people the...

Does the Minister have numbers available as to how many adults and how many children are currently... This is just an appropriation for additional funds. Does the Minister have a number of people that are in care, adults and children, and what the total cost is? Because I don’t think we are seeing the full picture here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

In his response that was shared with Members, the Premier asked Avalon to work with the GNWT to develop a plan that would allow Avalon to locate its processing plant in the NWT. Initial discussions have occurred. The Premier also suggested that the proposal to the federal government might be another way to ensure this project was to proceed. The comments in this article also have a damaging effect on public perception as it seems like Mr. Voytilla is also the spokesperson for the PUB, who is talking about blended rates and the cost of power to the public if this should go ahead.

I think there...

I think maybe my question is on something else, it’s not that number I’m questioning.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee, I believe, would like to deal with the last department in the budget, the Department of Human Resources, and then move on to Supplementary Appropriation No. 3, Supplementary Appropriation No. 1 and then Bill 2, time permitting, Forgiveness of Debts Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Obviously, this is not happy news for any of us to have to ante up with $15 million that is GNWT money that could be spent on something else. I was never a supporter of the bridge. I just didn’t think we needed it. Other people thought it was a really high priority and thought it was really important to push it forward regardless of the cost going up, regardless of the cost benefit analysis not being very favourable. There were people who thought that it was important to push this ahead.

Back in the 14th Assembly, when we passed the Deh Cho Bridge legislation, I mean...

I know that attendance is a very important issue of the teachers that are trying to make progress and inroads in the educating of a child. However, again drawing on my own experience, being raised in an area that was surrounded by agriculture and a farming community, when it was harvest time the kids who lived on farms missed school. I mean, they would have to help their family with the harvesting. If you translate that to the more traditional activities here in the North, if a child did miss school and it was to go with their family for time on the land or spring hunt, I hope that when they...