Robert Villeneuve

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m confused a little bit here. The Minister is telling us this amendment only applies to municipal taxation authorities, yet the amendment applies to the Charter Communities Act and the Hamlets Act and the municipalities act. As far as I’m concerned, that includes all the communities of the NWT. I just don’t see. Are the MTAs only under the municipal taxation act? These amendments go right across the board to the Charter Communities Act and the Hamlets Act. Why is it that these amendments are only applicable, I guess, to the MTAs? Why do we have these other...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a quick question on this enabling community governments to transfer charges for unpaid municipal services to properties. Maybe the Minister could just give me some clarification on how that would work or how this would enable communities to transfer charges for community services for squatters, for instance. Would this apply the same as the PATA act applies today as far as municipal property taxes in all the NWT communities that have squatters? Is this any different from what we have in place today?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a quick question on the stabilization fund, also. Just getting back to what the Minister was saying that communities are going to start paying 100 percent of what the actual product is to deliver to the communities, the stabilization fund that offsets projected losses and is not offset by revenue…It’s to offset any changes to the cost in the communities. How would that happen in the first place? If you buy a product and you ship it to the communities and you put a price on it that’s going to recover the cost or hopefully most of it, how would the price...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess it has just come to my attention that Nunavut and the Yukon have already had access to these Northern Strategy dollars and the communities are already putting proposals forward to spend some of that money. I guess the Minister is well aware of the divisiveness in the communities that has arisen because of these Northern Strategy dollars. Does this government have any plan of assisting these communities to work out and develop some good community plans to spend some of these northern infrastructure dollars? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question, Mr. Speaker, is to the Honourable Joe Handley. It’s just a question on some Northern Strategy dollars that have rolled out in the last couple of months. I just want to ask the Minister if any of these Northern Strategy dollars have been accessed by any of the communities in the NWT to date. Mahsi.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize the members of the Tlicho leadership to the House. Also, one of my constituents, Mr. Tommy Lockhart, who also has his daughter here, Fiona Lockhart, who is one of the Pages until Friday; and Shiranda Bull, who is the other Page from Lutselk’e until Friday. Welcome to the House.

---Applause

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Rule 85 requires that Members be appointed to standing committees of the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS vacancies exist on a number of standing committees;

AND WHEREAS Jackson Lafferty has been elected to the Legislative Assembly on July 18, 2005, as the Member for Monfwi;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that Mr. Jackson Lafferty, Member for Monfwi, be appointed to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, to the Standing Committee on Social Programs and to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures. Thank you, Mr...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, October 14, 2005, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Mr. Jackson Lafferty, Member for Monfwi, be appointed to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, to the Standing Committee on Social Programs and to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will seek unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I also would like to say welcome to all the other MLAs, yourself included, Mr. Speaker, back into the House for this Fourth Session. I would like to extend an especially warm welcome to our new Member for Monfwi, Jackson Lafferty. I’d also like to say welcome to the Legislative Assembly staff, the new Pages, and all our special guests and the general public to the fourth sitting of this 15th Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll be brief in my Member’s statement today as I’m not really feeling too vocal today. That being said, I would just like to...