Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’ve signed an agreement with Canada to start a process, a non-legally binding process that will allow us to negotiate the elements that were assigned in the AIP, and resolve those issues to come to a final agreement for all Northerners. Thank you.

They meet on an ongoing basis. They’ve fed their work into the business planning process. It includes departments like Health, MACA, Housing, to name some that have a role to play, and we look at funding for the City of Yellowknife, the shelters that are out there and homelessness in the smaller communities where there is no other capacity, and we try to deal with things on a one-by-one case basis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the spill is about 70 kilometres outside of Wrigley. If the chief has specific health concerns, then I would encourage him to contact the Deh Cho Health Authority through his community if he has those symptoms that the Member’s talking about. If there are broader issues, as well, once again, we’ll make note of those and I will ensure that the chair as well as the CEO of the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority is prepared to respond, if necessary. Thank you.

Firstly, I’d point out to the Member for Tu Nedhe it’s not they, it’s us that sit around this table. Every Member in this House, including the Member for Tu Nedhe and myself as the Member for Thebacha, that we are representing the people of the Northwest Territories at this public government table. The Member is suggesting that we have decades of problems that could be tied to the fact that we don’t control a lot of our own decisions. We didn’t take over health, forestry and those types of things until the mid-‘80s, but that it may be better to stick with the devil we know than to be able to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From what I understand, there’s a homelessness interdepartmental government homelessness working group. As well, there’s a strategy and framework that’s led by the Homelessness Coalition in Yellowknife. So that work is underway, and I don’t have a specific time that I could give the Member as to when that particular initiative will be concluded. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to note that this will be Ms. Melhorn’s, deputy minister of Finance, last appearance before this House before she...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is $173,000 earmarked for political engagement with regional leaders’ meetings. The Premier, as well, is still carrying out the regional leaders’ meetings and the regional leaders’ forums that we’ve been carrying on during the life of this Assembly, which as well will bring tables that will allow us to bring all the leaders together to continue to have these broad discussions. There’s the $173,000 there. There’s also another $123,000 for meetings in the regions, which brings that up to $300,000 to meet with individual leaders on devolution-related matters, in...

As the full extent and impact of the spill is determined, as the cleanup proceeds, if there’s further follow-up work that’s needed, then we will be there in our support role. If there are health concerns, then Health will be involved. But clearly at this point we’re working through and following the National Energy Board lead. At this point, the issue seems to be under control. If there are very specific community concerns from Wrigley, then I would be happy to talk to the Member about those. Thank you.

If we walk outside the confines of this building we will also find that we need thousands of housing units, that we need babies to be born healthy, that we need parents that are actively engaged in the upbringing of their children, that we need employment. There are lots of issues.

This particular issue will be brought forward. There will be options laid out there and recommendations. It will be the job of the incoming 17th Assembly in the budget process for 2012-13 to decide how they want to move forward, what their priorities are, and what we can afford. Thank you.

Once again, I appreciate the Member’s comments and ongoing concern about the public purse and protecting the taxpayer, and that’s the final analysis of the job of this Assembly, of this government and as myself, as the current Finance Minister. Overall, when you factor in all the things we’ve dealt with and the size of the budget and all the issues we’ve dealt with, I think collectively we’ve managed our way through some very difficult times, things that maybe in hindsight we would not do the same way going forward. We’ve adjusted some of our policies to reflect that. But I share the Member’s...