Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we can establish there have not been new tax increases from the GNWT. The Minister is saying rack price adjustment but what we see is, and we can tell, that the gas they were selling last week is the gas they would have gotten at least before the ice bridge went out and chances are it’s been there for months. We can’t think of any increased costs, so I think another word for rack gas pricing adjustment is gouging. So I’d like to ask the Minister, if someone is selling the same…This product doesn’t change; they didn’t bake it fresh that day; it’s the same...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize students from Range Lake North School: Robert Digness, Austin Tanner, Allison Web, Trent Broom, Dakota Hamilton, Jensen Hu, and with them the teacher, Jason Perrino. I would also like to recognize Mr. Peterson.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to speak today about something funny going on at our gas pumps in Yellowknife. Mr. Speaker, we know the rising price of gas has been on the national news because the prices keep going up and staying up. But what is an issue for a Yellowknife resident who called me last week is that the gas price went up by six cents per litre one day last week and there should be no reason to. Mr. Speaker, the ice bridge has been out for weeks. We know we have no permanent bridge over the Mackenzie River. This should tell us that the gas at the pumps has been...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My request is very narrow and it’s not anything to do with the POL; I’m asking the Minister of Finance, as a public interest question -- and he can refer it to the Minister responsible for consumer protection, if they have any -- but I’d like to know if the Minister would report back to the Members as soon as possible within this month. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, none of that explains why the gas price went up by six cents in Yellowknife when we have no permanent bridge. There is no new supply coming in; it’s the same old stuff. I mean that explanation may work for southern communities, but we are cut off from the rest of the world because we have no bridge. They’re using the same stuff and the price went up and the only variable was that the prices were…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, following up on my Member’s statement, I’d like to just ask the Minister of Finance what is his explanation for the gas prices in Yellowknife stations going from $1.19 to $1.25 when he knows that we have no bridge and unless they flew the gas in, which I don’t think they did, it’s the same stock. So if he could try his best to answer to start with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to say they surely have us where they want us. They know we can’t make our own gas. Conveniently, every gas station, no matter what name brand except for the Co-op, keeps the price high so there is not even really competition in gas pricing. As the news said, we can continue to suck it up, but I think we should all try to reduce the use of gas so that we could try to make an attempt to reduce demand, but that is not going to happen fast enough. The real action has to come from the government. We need to demand the federal government and all the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier’s sessional statement indicated that the negotiations are underway and that construction could begin as early as this fall. So I’d like to ask the Minister about what the timeline is. While he cannot reveal all the details, it certainly sounds like the deals are imminent. So could he give us an indication as to whether it’s weeks away or months away or what is the timeline of that negotiation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are on the Premier’s statement yesterday about the negotiations going on about the concession agreements and the project financing of the Deh Cho project. I think the questions could be answered by either the Premier or the Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, I just want to preface it by, obviously even though I support this project 1,000 percent, it has to stand on its own leg and make a sound business case. But business case for public business is a little different than a private business, which is profit motivated. A bridge like this...

Maybe our Law Clerk can help me with this. It was committee’s understanding that the Law Society was formally contacted. I think it’s important that they have a say in this. It was our understanding from somebody that this was communicated to them and they had no objection to this amendment. Thank you.