Joe Handley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me say, first of all, that I have issued an apology for the comments that I made. I realize they were inappropriate and they may have hurt people, and I am sincerely sorry for that. Mr. Speaker, I always have to take ownership about any comments I make, whether they’re taken out of context or not. Mr. Speaker, whether it’s a phrase out of something I said or whatever, I hold myself responsible for those comments. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member’s question is with regard to what we are doing with industry and that falls within the responsibility of the Minister for ITI. I will refer it to him. I recognize that he also carried on with some discussion about fiscal issues as well. I will leave it to the Minister of ITI to respond. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Members of this Legislative Assembly have been working diligently to ensure that a number of important legislative initiatives and issues are dealt with prior to the end of our term. Some of the most important of these initiatives include:

as mentioned earlier, we will be moving forward with a new Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act to provide additional remedies not available under the Criminal Code of Canada;

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a new Liquor Act to address numerous issues identified in the final report of the 2005 Liquor Act review that was completed last...

Mr. Speaker, I will take a look at my files. I don’t have a specific letter that comes to mind right now, but I will undertake to do what the Member is asking. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome everyone in the gallery and all Members back to this Assembly after a busy and productive summer.

This summer I had the good fortune to be able to travel to a number of communities to meet with local councils, organizations and residents. In August, I was pleased to host Prime Minister Harper on his first visit to the Northwest Territories. We were also pleased to host a number of other federal Ministers as the new government begins to understand the issues and develop relationships in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, last night...

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has always been very clear, as has Minister Prentice, that we have to work together on this thing. So when he says something, I take him at his word.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already moved this agenda ahead through Minister Prentice. As I said, Harvie Andre has been appointed as the new federal negotiator. They know that resource revenue sharing and devolution are together. That is moving ahead. As I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already asked Minister Flaherty, Minister of Finance, to bring forward a proposal on financing in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is no longer an option for us, as I said in my sessional statement. The situation we have is not sustainable. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Prentice and Mr. Harper have made pretty firm commitments to us on what they think is the element of a good deal. We have told them what we expect to be done. We are entering negotiations with them. I want to work towards an agreement-in-principle within the next few months.

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, I expect that there is going to be a federal election coming up. We don’t have a lot of levers here, but I can tell you, Mr...

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen a written mandate for Mr. Andre but, in my discussions with him, it is clear that he understands our point when we link both resource revenue sharing and devolution. Mr. Speaker, he understands that relationship. Mr. Speaker, there is no indication that he has the authority to overrule the federal Finance Minister who has the ultimate authority in the federal Cabinet on finance issues, but he can certainly carry very strong messages back to Minister Prentice and then onto Mr. Flaherty. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the federal government have made it clear that they will be proceeding on devolution and resource revenue sharing discussions, that in December Minister Flaherty will be meeting. So, Mr. Speaker, I expect clearly that we will have the answers to this and the process in place this fall before the end of the calendar year. Mr. Speaker, I expect to see as part of the 2007-08 budget some relief for the Northwest Territories on both the financing formula and on resource revenue sharing. Mr. Speaker, I think that is as much detail as we can provide at this time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, certainly lowering the flag would be an option. I think that one has been used already.

Mr. Speaker, I think the main option is we have to stay the course. There is a federal election coming soon, probably within the life of our government, and I think we get a very clear message that this is the main issue for us that the current situation is not sustainable. Mr. Speaker, I certainly welcome any advice from any Members if there are other things we can do, whether it’s turn the flag upside down or whatever it may be. My approach is that the federal government made a commitment to...