Robert C. McLeod

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 7, Community Planning and Development Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill replaces the Planning Act for most municipal corporations in the Northwest Territories. It modernizes processes for community planning and development and for the subdivision of land. Consequential amendments are made to the Charter Communities Act, Cities, Towns and Villages Act, Condominium Act, Hamlets Act and Land Titles Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Spring is just around the corner, though you’d never know it by looking outside. I’m sure if the groundhog came out today he’d probably freeze. With spring -- and my colleague for Nunakput mentioned it before -- the carnival seasons are starting up and it’s always an excellent time of year for folks in the Beaufort-Delta to gather and check out their new racing machines and check out their new dog teams and go up against each other. It’s always an excellent time for folks to get together. They have their old-time dances. It’s just a great time to celebrate.

Inuvik has...

Northland is part of the city of Yellowknife. Any extraordinary funding would go to community governments to assist in dealing with some unforeseen events that take place in their communities. As much as we feel for the situation out at Northland, I point out again that it is a privately held corporation, privately held condominium and they usually put some money aside for events such as this. The only difference between this particular case and, say, an apartment building where they are selling condominiums, it is just on a bigger scale and laid out. It is unfortunate that some of the issues...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, Northland has the population of a medium-sized community but they are not a community. They’re a privately held corporation. As I’ve said a couple times prior, we’ve written a letter of support for the City’s application to try to access some federal money for some of the needed repairs at Northland. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Local Authorities Election Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, there was a time when they had to put money aside to deal with unforeseen circumstances. You go to a private homeowner and right where the property ends, he is responsible from there into his house. If the sewer line goes or the water line goes, it is his responsibility. This is the same principle, just on a bigger scale. We do give money to all the municipal governments to deal, we give infrastructure money to deal with infrastructure issues within their community and I am sure Northland is being told that they are a privately held corporation, Mr. Speaker. We don’t have the...

Mr. Speaker, MACA doesn’t have the funding or the mandate to assist privately held lands to deal with infrastructure deficiencies. That would be a discussion that they would have to take up with the City. All I can tell the Member, as I’ve told a couple other Members that have asked previous to this, is that we are trying to assist their case, their application to try and access some federal money. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use this time to acknowledge Mr. Stephen Pretty, employee of the NWT Housing Corporation who is going to be leaving us soon and moving back to Newfoundland. Good luck to you, Stephen, and welcome.

Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 7, Community Planning and Development Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The residents had ample opportunity, as I said before, to work out a repayment plan, and not knowing what state we’re at right now, if it’s a rental office ordered eviction, I would have to follow up and be in contact with the Member as to the status of some of these evictions. So I’m not sure if they’re court ordered evictions. I’d have to follow up on that.

Again, I say, Mr. Speaker, the Housing Corporation is not in the business of evicting people, we’re in the business of trying to house people. We’ll do our part in making sure that happens, but they also have to do their part to...