Joe Handley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT position is that the federal ownership and a share of that oilfield is in lieu of resource royalties. Therefore, the profits they make from that ownership should be subject to the same rules as any other resource revenue sharing arrangement. The federal government is of the view that they should be able to take the profits out of their equity share and not have to pay royalties on it. We don’t agree with that. Mr. Speaker, we are firm on that position. The revenues need to be shared with us as a government as part of the resource revenue sharing deal....

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the main thing we do is what we say right here in this House, because people are listening to what we’re saying. I think the Members’ statements today sent a strong message that we are ready and willing to sit down and work with aboriginal leaders.

Mr. Speaker, having said that, we also need to think through how do we do this in a way that those who have settled claims are able to realize the benefits and begin to implement the benefits out of their claim and do that in a way that isn’t somehow going to forfeit or compromise the rights and benefits of those who...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree that we can’t just advertise and urge people to cut down on their energy consumption. That is important. I think the work of the Arctic Energy Alliance is good in that one. We do have to look at some more specific ways of helping people in the North to reduce their cost of living and to make their homes more energy efficient. Mr. Speaker, as we go through our budget planning process in preparing for each budget, there is opportunity for Members to have input, and certainly if the Members in this House are ready to support us, then we would look seriously at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member’s advice. Mr. Speaker, we will have to talk with ECE. Our people are already doing that. We will be talking with ITI with regard to meat replacement. We will be talking with other departments as well because it does involve, in fact, departments like Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, we are hosting a caribou summit this winter. We are hosting workshops I think as early as November on hardships associated with the declining number of caribou. So those are all efforts that are being made. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, we don’t have any exact numbers of what resources would be necessary and what special efforts would have to be made. We are looking for information from all of the regional management bodies. Hopefully, we can deal with it with their advice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly we would and we would look for advice from the Members as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, if we were to do the program that Mrs. Groenewegen’s referring to it would either be done through the Housing Corporation or it could be done through ENR, that would be another possibility, or a combination of departments. We did have programs similar to that in the past where we assisted people to buy things like solar panels and turbines and so on. This is something more specific and, Mr. Speaker, with the support of Members, then of course our government is ready to look at this kind of good program. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, the proposed conference includes participants far broader than just the GNWT. Mr. Speaker, it will include co-management boards, aboriginal governments, outfitters, resident hunting organizations, Nunavut, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Dene Nation, regulatory boards, of course GNWT departments, people from ITI, Education, Social Services and so on, industry people and NGOs, caribou management boards, and Members of the Legislative Assembly will be invited. So we are keeping it as broad as we can. We are probably looking at 100 to 150 delegates and our intention is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are always aware of the difficulty people have in accessing caribou meat, where they depend on it. The most immediate thing we can do in the short term, of course, is to ensure that our income support offices are aware of the situation, are able to take that into consideration when they make allocations to people. Mr. Speaker, I know that it is difficult. It is more than just an income issue. It is also an issue of wanting to have the wild meat that people have a desire for. Mr. Speaker, over time we will work it out, but in the short term, in...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I also want to express my appreciation and respect for the work that the commission members did in making their recommendations.

Madam Chair, in looking at this issue I've talked to many of my constituents and I've also thought long and hard about this issue. There are three main issues that I took into consideration. First of all, how many people can we represent? I had to look at some of the provinces and the federal government, the size of constituencies, and I have to say that the number of people that each of us represent, whether it's in Yellowknife or in some...