Kevin A. Menicoche

In honour of Valentine's Day, Mr. Speaker, I’m asking the government to have a heart.

So I would like to ask the Minister if he could look at that and use that definition when bartering with his colleagues, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister consider it as green infrastructure? Thank you.

But the sad fact remains that they don’t have their one-third contribution even today. In fact, there’s some old contribution money that they don’t want to give up, and they are still trying to match dollar for dollar from old water and sewer funding that they currently have. They are just trying to match that and now we’re asking them to match another one-third. So we’re going to have to take a good hard look at that infrastructure, as well.

In terms of capacity building, several Members brought it up and in terms of pipeline capacity issues and that still has significant concern for me....

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to follow up on my Member’s statement to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. In this sitting of the Assembly, I told people of Nahanni Butte I am either going to have a good news story for you or a bad news story. The way it looks, it looks like a bad news story. There is no indication of a gymnasium for Nahanni Butte. That is absolutely to say that next year we will have something for you. I would like to ask the Minister of MACA when or where can we look at this infrastructure for Nahanni Butte, Mr. Speaker? Mahsi cho.

Madam Chair, the committee wishes to consider Appropriation Act, 2005-2006.

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand here 10 letters from the students and principal of Nahanni Butte school requesting a school gymnasium that I would like to table.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

During the review of the 2005-2006 Draft Main Estimates, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight noted that the public service has grown by 20.3 percent since 1999.

Members are of the opinion that growth of this kind is something to be monitored very carefully. Not only is the number of positions increasing, upcoming Collective Agreement negotiations may also lead to increased costs. The concern is that the GNWT has finite resources; the more resources allocated to salaries and benefits and other administrative costs, the less available for programs and...

That’s what I would like to say for the people and the youth of Nahanni Butte. Will the Minister look at changing his mind and address these needs in the immediate future? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We heard today about the Tlicho having a reason to tea dance and what I would like to do is give Nahanni a place to tea dance, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me what options they are looking at to develop a gymnasium for Nahanni Butte in the near future? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of MACA. I would just like to quote from the Finance Minister’s budget speech. His last line, Mr. Speaker, states: “It is up to the leaders of the Northwest Territories to light the path and lead the way.” Lead the way!