Robert C. McLeod

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to welcome Stephanie Heidl to the gallery, formerly of Inuvik, I think now taking a social services course here in Yellowknife, I believe. Welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act, be read for the third time.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am here to present Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Dog Act.

In the past several years there have been a series of well-reported incidents about the abuse of dogs. These incidents fall far outside the traditional ways of managing dogs and dog teams. The abuses are also against modern standards of care.

The amendments we are seeking are measured responses that take into account the experiences of other jurisdictions as well as a unique northern approach to make legal solutions for the kind of dog abuse problems we are facing.

Further amendments proposed, as a...

Mr. Speaker, we have had discussions with municipal government on a number of occasions laying out the process that we use and the process that was followed. Having said that, I really see no need for a review of this situation and how the deal went down. There will still be opportunities for input because there are still some conditions that they have to meet in the next little while, so there will still be opportunity for input. I am sure the community government would be prepared for that and take up every opportunity they can to voice their displeasure on how this transaction went down...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Norman Wells Land Corporation identified a piece of Commissioner’s land that they were interested in. They approached MACA and made application. They were hereby approved for it, and I assure the Member, as I did the other Member, that all the proper processes were followed. The municipal government in Norman Wells had some concerns with it. I met with them personally. The deputy has met with them and the lands people have met with them. They’ve expressed their concern. But at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, the Norman Wells Land Corp followed all the processes as...

Mr. Speaker, the department has already started some of the work in comparison to some of the other jurisdictions in the South and how they deal with the issue that we’re discussing today. I’m sure as they go into the NWTAC annual general meeting to be held in Tuktoyaktuk this year that they’ll have some information, because obviously they’re going to get questions on it, and as they normally do, they go there very well prepared and I believe they will be on this one too. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, the NWTAC, as the Member had mentioned in his Member’s statement, had passed a motion asking for the municipalities to have the authority to levy hotel taxes. That being the case, we obviously have to listen to that and do our consultations and see what support is out there. This was something that was tried, I believe, in 2000, to levy a hotel tax, and a lot of the stakeholders that were opposed to it at that time are now speaking out in support of it. It’s one obviously we’d have to have a look at and see how we can go forward from there. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I will commit to the Member that we will look at all the different situations. In a lot of the smaller communities, I think we rely a lot on the elders that are in there, because they seem to know before anybody else that a storm is coming and they warn folks. I can assure the Member that a warning system could be one of the issues that is looked at by this working group. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I blame that lapse of concentration on age. We will continue to monitor and work with the local municipal governments to deal with some of the affects of the storm that has been had on their communities. Obviously, now that this is over, they can go over the situation and see where improvements can be made. But I can commit to the Member that we will see what we can do as a department to do our part and work with the communities to ensure that they are well prepared in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 18, An Act to Repeal the Settlements Act, be read for the third time.