Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This winter the Northwest Territories has received a great amount of promotion and attention as a place to visit for tourism. For the first week of the Olympics, over 70,000 people had the pleasure of visiting Canada’s Northern House, which, as many Members in this House will know, was a joint effort between the Government of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon. This gives people the chance to learn about northern culture, crafts, tourism, and opportunities to travel to the Northwest Territories and Canada’s North.

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of visiting...

In that particular case, the Minister probably wouldn’t be opposed to a motion to that effect. I mean, ultimately constituents of mine are more concerned about making sure the project gets done and that it stays on the rails, as well as the fact this timely information becomes the biggest issue. So, Mr. Chairman, with that I’d probably like to move a motion and shall I read it right into the record now?

Mr. Speaker, every time I mention “summit” the Minister seems to think that I’m talking about planes and planes and trains and buses of people. Mr. Speaker, I continually point to the fact that I’m asking about a small group of people. I often wonder why it’s so difficult on the other side of the House to say that was a good idea, maybe we should do that. So how much different is my call to rally a few people, the affected chiefs only? Again, keep the bureaucracy at home. How much different is this call for a small meeting than the one being described by the Minister of Environment and Natural...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago I called upon the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to organize a small and limited caribou summit about organizing the chiefs, the right type of personnel, and I’m not talking about a flood of bureaucrats, I’m talking about the people. I feel this caribou issue is more about politics than legal questions. I’m just curious. Would the Minister explain to me: is this a caribou summit? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member’s statement, Northern House, in my view, is a clear example of hard work and certainly an excellent demonstration of what the North has to offer.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve been highlighting my issue, trying to raise awareness about preparing for RV'ers, and certainly I know the staff working down there are clearly providing excellent examples of how people can get here and things to do. But if all that work is for naught, if we’re not prepared for them, I’d like to find out from the Minister what type of work is being done by Industry, Tourism and Investment to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about tourism, my support of it, and certainly I recognize the hard work going on in the ITI shop to make sure that the Northwest Territories is certainly advocated in a very positive way to attract tourism. But one of the areas that I’d like to find out today and lay before this House is what is this government doing specifically to provide services for that type of tourism market. I referred to the RV sector, which is a very popular tourism group. Mr. Speaker, specific to investment in the Northwest Territories, what is the...

Mr. Chairman, I guess my question next being is: has it ever been put to these organizations, each of the individual 15 tables, about would it be in their interest to consider accelerating negotiations and searching for principles that would work to accelerate it? Has that question been put to them? Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. I move that committee reports progress. Thank you.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all due respect, I don’t think the Minister sees what I’m trying to get at, which is the fact that I agree that the public system is there to top up, I agree that the public system is to back up the person as the backstop, and I definitely agree that the public system is the safety net provided to all our citizens. My fear is that we’re leaving potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars or even up to millions of dollars over the course of a number of years that we’re not tapping into the third-party insurance that is legally mandated. I’m not asking her to make...

Then by saying that we all have to work together, does that then not instil the reality that someone could obtain a veto or what is the process therein? Thank you.