Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I make this motion today because I do not agree that we are ready to give Bill 17 third reading. This bill has not been through an appropriate public review process. I find it very disturbing that five amendments were made to Bill 17 yesterday during Committee of the Whole debate. To me it is totally inappropriate that these amendments, which change the context of the bill, were made without an opportunity for public input. When do our constituents get to have a say? For example, an amendment was made to the Wildlife Act, Mr. Speaker. That’s a very key act for a lot of...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out a point of privilege. Yesterday, on March 9, 2005, in this Legislature during Committee of the Whole debate, I believe that inappropriate amendments were made to a bill that affects my ability to do my job to represent my constituents. I was unable to send this bill back to the responsible standing committee for proper public debate to engage our institution of participatory consensus government. This bill has changed significantly. The Minister added five amendments to a bill of 10; very irregular, and made a new reference to the Wildlife Act which...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The committee wishes to consider Committee Report 12-15(3), Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures Report on the Review of the Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the Administration of the 2003 General Election. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise, too, in support of this motion. Just a few thoughts with respect to WCB claimants in my riding where there are lots of small communities, Mr. Speaker, and in fact I have six. The inquiries that I did get are that in our smaller communities like Nahanni Butte and Trout Lake, there is a quiet acquiescence to when they are dealing with WCB.

They are sitting in their small communities and getting notices in the mail that they are cut off and they can’t really do too much. I pride some of the examples that my colleagues have brought out. In the larger centres...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today with questions for the Minister of MACA. I sent a question down to research and they advised me that I had mentioned Nahanni Butte 54 times, the gymnasium 29 times, so all together that's 83 times. That's almost once for every constituent in Nahanni Butte, Mr. Speaker…

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…except I'm missing three constituents, so I’m going to have to conclude this sitting by asking three more questions of the Minister.

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Begging the chair's indulgence, I said I am astounded five times, so I'm going to have to say that two more times, because there are...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for North Slave, that the motion be amended by striking out “that Bill 17 be read for the third time” and substituting “that Bill 17 be not now read a third time, but that it be read a third time this day three months hence.”

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Thank you, Madam Chair. I am certainly in favour of not campaigning in the snow.

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But I am not really in favour of a fixed election date. I won’t be voting for this motion.

Thank you very much. Well, the Minister keeps talking about not changing the definition, but that’s what he’s doing. That’s what every page on here is doing is changing the definition of co-habiting and spouse. I don’t know where he gets off saying he’s not changing any definition at all. That’s the fundamental reason why I’m opposing any of these changes at all. He is changing the definition and the people I represent are opposed to that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Ramsay.

What exactly was the concern by Egale?