Wendy Bisaro

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier. I would sincerely hope that all candidates in this upcoming election will seriously consider whether or not they can pledge to make the Anti-Poverty Strategy a top priority in the next Assembly, should they end up here.

To the Premier, I don’t know whether he can answer this question or not, but since the paper has just gone to standing committee, can he give us any indication of when the paper might be released to the public? Thank you.

I am very pleased to hear that. I want to thank the Premier for that response. It’s coming at the last hour, but better that it come than it not come at all.

In this next period through the election period and through October until the next Assembly gets up and running, I’d like to know whether or not there are any activities relative to the development of this paper or the Anti-Poverty Strategy planned during the next several months. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my great pleasure today to recognize a representative of one of the organizations for the No Place for Poverty Alliance, Ms. Julie Green, director of community relations for the YWCA. Welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to bring attention today to a very slow moving government project. That project is the development of an Anti-Poverty Strategy.

As early as February 2010, I began urging the government to recognize the need for a government-wide comprehensive Anti-Poverty Strategy and to take action on it. I’ve made statements in the House many times since. To its credit, the government has taken some action in the last year and a half, but it’s been too little and taken much too much time to get going.

A motion was passed in this House on February 11th last year which called for...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, want to express my appreciation for this motion coming forward. I feel really strongly that any funds within the Heritage Fund belong to the people of the NWT; they don’t belong to the Assembly. I think that there needs to be a certain amount of public oversight on the fund itself and the reporting of the fund needs to be monitored to a certain extent by the public. I appreciate the recommendation from the Minister, and it was accepted by committee, that we don’t need an arm’s length body to monitor the fund in the first period while we are not withdrawing...

Thanks to the Premier for that. That was my next question, was relative to the transition document from the government. I’m really pleased to hear that it’s in there. It’s really unfortunate that we couldn’t have had greater work done in the 16th Assembly. What kind of a priority is assigned to the development of an Anti-Poverty Strategy in the transition document to the 17th Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier and I’d like to ask some questions with regard to the Anti-Poverty Strategy or the development of, or maybe I should say lack of development of.

I’d like to ask the Premier initially if he could advise, give us -- the House -- an update or advise the status of the report on the Anti-Poverty Strategy discussion paper. Thank you.

At a press conference this morning the alliance launched its anti-poverty election tool kit. They will be asking each candidate in the October 3rd election to take a pledge to make an Anti-Poverty Strategy a key priority for the 17th Assembly. The Alliance will then publish the results for voters’ consideration.

I have to commend the Alliance for their election initiative and fully support their stand. The development of this strategy must be a top priority for the next Assembly. It’s an issue which will not go away. Our residents need it. Our NGOs and local governments want it and are asking...

Thanks to the Minister for that somewhat exhaustive list of things. It’s unfortunate that most of the verbs that he used are future tense. I’m really quite disappointed that between January 2011 and the end of August 2011 it seems as though there’s very little that the department has done to promote this Leave the Phone Alone pledge campaign. I really feel that this is an absolutely wonderful opportunity to force people, to train people not to use their cell phones while driving. If they have a sticker on their vehicle which says they’ve pledged, they’re quite likely to think three or four...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Transportation. I’d like to ask some questions of him with regard to programs that the department runs relative to distracted driving. It’s well known that distracted driving dangers are out there and that they’re really quite valid.

Early in 2011 the Minister made a statement or comment that the Drive Alive program would have different facets to it. In February, I believe, I made a statement about distracted driving and I asked the Minister about the Leave the Phone Alone pledge campaign, which he had indicated was...