Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s nice to see so many very influential and important people in the gallery, but I would like to recognize three people who have not been recognized yet. The first one is Diana Beck, who is a youth leader I know of. She’s there with Sandi Briscoe.

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I would like to recognize a very keen observer of culture and politics, a media commentary extraordinaire, Marty Brown.

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I also see the unrelenting champion of four-legged animals and other animal friends of ours, the chairperson of the SPCA, Janet Pacey. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to once again register my concern with the fact that the division of RWED will result in the creation of 28 new jobs at a cost of $2.8 million every year. Mr. Speaker, I understand that the department needed to streamline and separate their mandates between exploring resources to protecting the environment. But that didn’t give the government the right to reproduce themselves 28 more little positions in offices. Mr. Speaker, I don’t accept the Minister’s position that this had to be done in order to better respond to the work of preparing for the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all the resources he had, the Minister still hasn’t got the beverage recycling plant off the ground, he hasn’t brought in the Wildlife Act that’s been in the works for 10 years, and people are crying in the public media saying we want to take part in having a say about what’s going to happen to us with this development. All the Minister is doing is creating government positions in offices. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister not revisit this and see how the money could be better spent in making a difference in people’s lives? Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m sure that all governments across the country are bigger than ourselves. But we are smaller than the rest of them, as well. We’re only 40,000 people and, Mr. Speaker, most of the positions that are being created are senior management positions. They are not going to add to the people on the ground who need to be in contact with communities to do the work. In the end, I really don’t think it’s going to make a difference in a way that people want to see it. It really, Mr. Speaker, was done to minimize the pain in reorganization and I think the Minister...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to my statement today, I’d like to ask questions to the Minister of RWED. Mr. Speaker, we have been hearing a lot in the news and during our budget session where we have not been able to fund everything that we need to. I really do believe that for the people out there, they don’t really care if we have 28 more positions in RWED or wherever else. What makes the difference to them is what’s happening in their communities and to facilities that are breaking down. We have places with no indoor gyms, we’re closing facilities, and I just heard now that...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 15, Tlicho Community Services Agency Act, on December 10th, 2004. The committee would like to thank the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill. Bill 15 is the last of three pieces of NWT legislation needed to implement the Tlicho agreement. The bill will create a new agency which will replace the Dogrib Community Services Board and assume the responsibility for delivering education, health and social services to residents of the Tlicho region. Bill 15 is based on both...

Would the Minister revisit this issue? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated in my Member’s statement, this department, before a split, runs with an $80 million budget. That’s a lot of money. Everybody here knows there are always vacancies in any department. There is a lot of room for the Minister to manoeuvre; 20 or 30 percent vacancies. Mr. Speaker, the Minister is already aware and he has already stated that there will be hardly any funding for individuals or small NGOs to take part in the Mackenzie Valley review process. Most of the government funding goes to other levels of governments and huge organizations. How can he justify...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister is stating because of the needs of housing in the North that the government wants to provide housing by way of purchasing mobile homes and that is the government policy, let’s have a debate on that. This is a total backdoor way of breaking all the rules, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the Minister and the government that this policy was extraordinary. It waived the BIP and it undertook having mobile homes instead of building stick-built homes. The government had an onus to meet that this was going to work, and so far it hasn...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you how displeased I am at the way the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation and this government have handled the market housing initiative introduced last year. Mr. Speaker, as you might recall, we had a very extensive debate on various aspects of this policy all during the spring and summer sessions in 2004. At that time, the government begged us to waive their own BIP policy and allow them to bring 22 trailers from Sherwood Park in a hurry, because this was a cheap and efficient way to bring needed...