Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the question from the Member. I think, first off, I would like to say that this bill is an interim step. There was not an attempt to try to regulate funeral planners, their accreditation, and so on in this bill. That is not the purpose of it. That is not what I tried to set out to do in the first place.

There is a definition for funeral planner, and it is found in the Vital Statistics Act. It is defined as follows: funeral planner means a person who takes charge of a dead body for the purpose of burial, cremation, and other disposition. The duties of a funeral...

Yes, Mr. Chair, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that was a third no. He is not prepared to look at the funding formulae which are the basis for the figures that he himself tabled a couple of days ago in this House. That is where I got the numbers from, was from his own reply to my written question that came from his own department. So, look, the funding for junior kindergarten implementation has been like a zombie; it just keeps coming back for more. Whether it is busing, inclusive schooling, capital improvements, Aboriginal language, custodial services, they are all underfunded or not resolved, but we are...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'll keep this very brief. I just wish to thank my colleagues who serve on the committee; the MLA for Yellowknife Centre, MLA for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh, MLA for Thebacha, and MLA for Nahendeh. There are no recommendations in the report. A number of things, though, that we've already started to carry out, including improving our committee web pages here at the Assembly. We conduct much more of our business as standing committees in public, and I think it's fair to say that we'll continue to work to improve our public engagement and transparency for the remainder of this Assembly...

Thanks to the Minister for that answer. As I pointed out in my statement, our current legislation regulating real estate transaction deals with regard to ethics are under sort of a catchall section prohibiting "anything that dishonestly influences, discourages, or induces a trade." Real estate transactions, as I mentioned, are amongst the most complex and significant investments many people ever make. Does the Minister agree it is time to review how we regulate the real estate sector to more specifically address ethical issues and practices such as dual agency?

Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, as she has responsibility for consumer protection. I just want to add to my Member's statement that I am not aware of any widespread problems with the real estate sector in Yellowknife or the NWT and that I personally used their services to my complete satisfaction in the past. My statement outlined the situation in multiple representation or dual agency in brokering of real estate transactions. As I pointed out, our legislation is very weak when it comes to the regulation of buying and selling...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thanks again to the Minister for acknowledging her long legislative todo list. I am just wondering if she can tell me: the legislation that governs real estate transactions, when was that last reviewed, if ever? Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that response. I appreciate that very much. I acknowledged her reference to getting consumer protection information out earlier in my statement today and thank her again for this in the House, but I am wondering if her officials have researched other jurisdictions to determine how the real estate sector is regulated and what, if any, changes might be made here, in the Northwest Territories.

Merci, Monsieur le President. In the winter sitting, I raised some issues regarding consumer protection under our legislation. The Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, who has responsibility for this area, committed to improving public information on consumer protection, and MACA has recently produced a pamphlet. I thank her for that.

Since then, I have also become aware of concerns regarding our regulation of the real estate sales sector. Our Real Estate Agents Licensing Act regulates the real estate business to some extent, but this is mainly in regard to the licensing and procedural...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister for that. We're not asking for federal intervention. Part 6 is about being sure it's a full federal panel. They're appointed by the federal government and it could have included representation from this side of the border, but we cut off our nose to spite our face.

Clearly, the routing for the Slave Geological Province road was chosen by our government without any regard for caribou as stated by the Minister of Transportation in this House. Can the Minister of Lands tell us what kind of credibility our government can possibly have in any review of the...