Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last month I had the pleasure of attending the Skills Canada NWT Regional Competition. As I walked through the venues I saw dozens of young people perfecting their skills in an impressive variety of fields from hairdressing to electrical wiring, from making a film to making a meal. I found all this activity inspiring. While 19 per cent of the labour force includes youth who are not in school but who want to work, there are many others who are working hard now to ensure their future employability and income. The following day the GNWT released its Labour Market...

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. One of the things that seems to be a gap in this labour market forecast is that it looks primarily at the non-renewable resource sector jobs rather than some of those which might be part of diversification. I am wondering why the report did not look at diversification, for example filmmaking, traditional economies, agriculture, manufacturing, and so on, rather than concentrating on the declining sector of our economy.

Thanks to the Premier for that answer. We are looking forward to seeing it on our side of the House. My next question involves the promise to establish better government-to-government relations with Aboriginal organizations and to speed the process of land claims. Can the Premier please tell us when he plans to present an offer to the Dehcho and meet with the leadership of that organization?

Mr. Speaker, I'm sorry to be quarrelsome on this point, but the Premier was quoted in the media, along with his colleagues, in saying that he opposed a carbon tax for the NWT. What I'm saying is on what authority is he making that statement? Certainly, not without any consultation with this side of the House, thus sort of diminishing the idea of the consensus within consensus government which he said he wanted to promote when he became the Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like him to respond that point.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I'm talking about here is leadership, and the Premier wanted to be our leader and he is, in fact, our leader, so in his position as the leader, for example, he has made a statement opposing carbon tax, which is not something Members on this side of the House have any input into whether through a joint committee or any other committee. What I'm looking for is for the Premier to make good on his inclusive approach that he talked about during his candidacy speech. When can we expect that to start? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure today to acknowledge and thank some of the leaders of our seniors community here, in the Northwest Territories, particularly Merlyn Williams, the president of Yellowknife Seniors’ Society, Stephen Jackson who is the CEO of Avens, and Kim Doyle who is the executive director of the Baker Centre. I'd also like to acknowledge a very active senior in our community and a driving force behind many things that happen here, Yvonne Quick. As well, I'd like to acknowledge my constituents Christina Poppa and Nicole Latour, and Jack Bourassa from the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, 174 days ago we sat in this Chamber and listened to the pitches of the two men who wanted to become Premier. A week later we elected Mr. McLeod to an unprecedented second term. Today I want to reflect on what the Premier promised during the Territorial Leadership Committee and what he has delivered. The November election highlighted the electorate's desire for change, which Mr. McLeod acknowledged. He said people expect more effective and transparent decision-making and less politics. I agree, but I don't think we're there yet. Mr. McLeod promised a “more...

Thank you to the Premier for that. I assume he had all of that information when he made the commitment to make a new land offer within 90 days to the Dehcho First Nations. That hasn't happened. I understand the Dehcho First Nations are eager for that to happen. When will it happen?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to continue on with my questions for the Premier based on my statement. One of the key things that he promised was to assist in evening out the bumps of the resource economy by providing support for economic diversification. To that end, I'd like to hear from the Premier when he expects the agricultural strategy to be ready. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to pursue this issue, there was a meeting of the northern Premiers in Old Crow, Yukon in which they said that they were against a carbon tax for the North. That's the context. Thank you.