Michael Nadli

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I made the comment regarding the employment rates in Fort Providence. My question is to the Minister of ITI.

In the Deh Cho riding – of course we are located in the southwestern part of the NWT – we pride ourselves on being located to the gateway to the North, gateway to Denendeh. The big thing that we come across when we drive the highway, of course, is the iconic Deh Cho Bridge. This government has invested millions of dollars, and we need to ensure that we begin at some moment in time to enjoy the benefits of the investments that we’ve made and at least enjoy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Microphone turned off] …among the most scenic, accessible, promising regions of the NWT. It is rich in resources, home to a world-renowned national park and named for one of the earth’s most majestic rivers, and now we have a completed bridge.

However, the potential of the Deh Cho area remains underdeveloped. The unemployment rate in Fort Providence was 30 percent in 2009, while the average for the NWT was closer to 10 percent. NWT residents are consistently among the highest wage earners in Canada, but at the same time, 32 percent of households in the Deh Cho report...

Mr. Speaker, WHEREAS Northwest Territories highways are remote and communities are not equipped to respond to emergencies on our highway system;

AND WHEREAS communities must apply for reimbursement when they respond to accidents outside of their municipal boundaries;

AND WHEREAS there have been an average of 130 collisions per year on Northwest Territories highways over the last three years, and the volume of traffic on the Mackenzie Highway between the 60th parallel and Yellowknife will likely increase with the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge that now allows uninterrupted travel year round, 24...

Part of the negotiations process is trying to at least understand the issues and try to mediate and at least meet at a common point where both parties compromise. I think from the start of this process there has been great compromise, especially in terms of communities trying to… Without having a land claims settled First Nations communities have taken a leap of faith in terms of ensuring that this process works. One of the stumbling matters that has become apparent is that one of the policies that this government has stood on is the ratio of 45 percent land.

Can the Minister explain in terms...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask a question to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on his update on the Protected Areas Strategy. As people might be aware, the Deh Cho has been in discussions a long time, particularly with communities that have put their faith in the Protected Areas Strategy when it began in 1999. It’s been a long, drawn-out process. Communities have been involved and elders have been involved. A lot of the elders that were initially involved have passed on, so a lot of the leaders have taken up at least the torch of trying to move forward on some key areas...

The Tu Nedhe communities would be combined in a riding with Detah, Ndilo and residents of the Ingraham Trail beyond Yellowknife’s boundaries. These proposals technically give every vote something we might call equal power, but these votes are not the only source of power, and day to day with any of the people in the affected ridings would actually be better represented. I think anyone who knows NWT would say no, and emphatically no at that.

I don’t know if there are any ways to improve on these proposals, but I cannot support the choices offered by the Boundaries Commission. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the chair of the Assembly’s Standing Committee on Government Operations, I’m pleased to move this motion. Committee members have a keen interest in any measures that could improve government accountability, administrative fairness and responsiveness. The matter of a territorial ombudsman, which could be just such a measure, has often been discussed in this House. There is support from this Assembly for the concept, as shown by the passage of Motion 9-17(3) last June.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations took the initiative to write to the Premier to state...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with a motion I gave notice of earlier today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleague from Range Lake for seconding this motion. Essentially this motion asks for the establishment of ambulances and, at the same time, highway rescue services to deal with people that are in distress either in communities or on the highway.

Of course, it also calls for the enhancement of first responder training, training for fire departments, as well, and likely the establishment of protocols for dealing with emergency situations both inside and outside of communities. I understand there has been an interdepartmental exercise in terms of...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, March 18, 2013, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that the potential role of an NWT ombudsmen, whether stand-alone or combined with another statutory office, and options for implementing such an office, be referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for research, review and analysis, and that the committee report its findings back to the House at the earliest opportunity;

And further, that the Standing Committee on Government Operations shall be provided, through...