Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner advised committee that the rights of individuals to privacy are set aside in several instances in Bill 48 without justification. Committee sought clarification and worked with the department to address several of the privacy-related matters flagged by the Information and Privacy Commissioner, as outlined below.

The educational institutions contemplated in Bill 48 will have to collect, use, and disclose significant amounts of personal information. Most, if not all, Canadian jurisdictions include public post-secondary institutions...

Mr. Speaker, 12 years ago, when I first campaigned to be elected as MLA for Tu Nedhe, every second household I attended had a housing issue. In my first term as MLA for Tu Nedhe, I brought over 300 housing issues to the government. That was quite an accomplishment, Mr. Speaker, considering I was representing 295 households.

In any event, over the years, many of us as MLAs have all worked on housing issues and, for the past 12 years that I have been an MLA and we have had a full House in this Assembly, the core need for housing has never changed, from what I could see. I think that the last...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This also applies to a refinancing. Now, if you are not switching houses, but the market value of your house is down, now in addition to having less ability to take money out of the market, there is this fee. I was wondering if the Minister has looked at the frequency of that type of transaction as opposed to just looking at the buy-and-sell transaction where many people go to use their houses for equity in order to purchase other things, buy other things around that are needed, that may not be, or even maybe renovating their own homes. When the unit is refinanced...

Mr. Speaker, in our small communities, our graduation rates are low. There are too many youth unemployed and uneducated. We need to employ more youth, and the Protected Areas Act has the potential to provide more opportunities in the area of a conservation economy.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the day of seeing our guardians protecting our cultural and traditional areas in all communities of the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Committee wishes to consider Committee Report 19-18(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2017-2018 Public Accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, we will read the Protected Areas Act for the third time. Should this bill pass, it will undoubtedly be a huge step towards creating a conservation economy unlike anything we have seen before.

The federal government over the last several years has budgeted large amounts of money for the conservation economy across Canada. This decision by the federal government demonstrates a desire to expand the amount of protected areas in our country. In fact, the federal government hopes to protect at least 17 percent of all lands and waters in Canada over the next few years...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Chair rise and report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, the way the legislation is written, if you go to what is being proposed in the act right now, in order for the Minister to reject the nominated area, he or she would have to put it in writing. It doesn't have to be put in writing to accept a nominating committee, so in effect, following this legislation would say that, once the nomination is made and the Minister does not reject it, it is accepted.

This actually puts more restrictions. The new recommendation actually puts more restriction in. Number one, it makes it within 90 days. Number two, it has both...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I may have read this backwards. We will consider the committee report first. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to acknowledge Eileen Erasmus. Eileen has dedicated nearly 20 years to the K'alemi Dene School and to education in the Northwest Territories. She has taught almost every grade and has been an integral part of the growth of K'alemi Dene School. Eileen has demonstrated a consistent commitment to her students, and they know this and can feel it. Former students describe her as an amazing individual, who has been a strong role model for the next generation. On behalf of the people from Ndilo, thank you, Eileen.