Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me to my left Mr. Michael Aumond, deputy minister of MACA. To my right is David Kravitz, manager, community governance at MACA; and Lana Birch-Rideout, legislative counsel, Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me to my left Mr. Michael Aumond, deputy minister of MACA. To my right is Laura Gareau, director of corporate affairs for MACA; and Kelly McLaughlin, the legislative counsel, Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Bill 18, An Act to Repeal the Settlements Act.

Municipal and Community Affairs is proposing a Repeal of the Settlements Act. This legislation has ceased to have effect because there are no longer any settlements in the Northwest Territories.

The last settlements were Enterprise, Fort Resolution and Colville Lake. Enterprise and Fort Resolution became hamlets and Colville Lake revoked its settlement status entirely and became a band-governed community referred to as a First Nations designated authority.

There is no further need for the Settlements Act...

Yes, I would, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled GNWT Response to Motion 21-16(5), Flexible Transition Period for Rent Adjustments.

Mr. Speaker, we do like to assist our seniors. We have the government service offices that are going to be in some of the communities which would be able to assist some of the seniors. As far as going door to door, that’s a topic that I’ll have to take up with senior management and see if it’s something that we would consider doing. Again, like I say, we like to have the clients initiate the contact and then we’ll do what we can from there to accommodate them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do provide a lot of assistance to seniors, and as I quoted some numbers the other day when I was speaking to the motion, the number of seniors that are accessing our programs, our CARE program, for example, which allows them to access more money than they would have under the old system, we had quite a few seniors that took part in that. But I’ve heard the Member’s concern and I heard the motion the other day. I haven’t had an opportunity yet to sit down with the senior staff, but I do know that we are doing an evaluation of our Housing Choices program and hearing...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We’re always conscious of the possible effects this could have on communities and we go to great lengths to consult with the NWT Association of Communities and get their feedback on some of the proposed amendments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Bill 19, Municipal Statutes Amendment Act.

Bill 19 proposes amendments to three of the municipal statues, the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, the Hamlets Act and the Charter Communities Act. The proposed amendments result from issues raised over the past several years by municipal governments. Additional minor amendments of a miscellaneous nature are included as requested by the Department of Justice.

The other municipal statue, the Tlicho Community Government Act, is not addressed in this bill. The Tlicho Government must consent in a separate...

Thank you. The Member disagrees with the Minister because he doesn’t like it either, as he disagrees with a lot of things that go on in this Legislative Assembly. Mr. Speaker, the land in question is not going to impede the Norman Wells community from expanding. There’s still plenty of Commissioner’s land within the municipal boundaries. The Norman Wells Land Corporation saw an opportunity to acquire some land for the future of their people and what they want to do with them, so they made application. The application was reviewed. Hereby they now have the land.

Again I say, Mr. Speaker, that...