Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask questions today to the Minister of Human Resources. I want to make sure that we totally understand and find out, did we receive the program, the pay and benefits program, PeopleSoft, that we actually thought we were buying, Mr. Speaker? I am concerned that we may have bought a product that was faulty from the very beginning. Mr. Speaker, my first question to the Minister today is to find out what did we do when we bought this program. So, Mr. Speaker, does the Human Resources Minister today know, or can he tell us the fact that, did...

We promised to come here and not accept things just at any cost. Mr. Speaker, we can’t accept this just at any cost in blind faith without having the sense of what this is going to cost. I think it is totally irresponsible of us to just assume it will be okay. Mr. Speaker, I do not assume it will be okay and I am not going to assume the federal government is going to come behind us and sweep up and say don’t worry, we will cover the shortfall. We need to have a comfort letter from Ottawa. We need to have a comfort letter, heck, from Cabinet. That could be just in the fact of what it’s really...

Well, I can’t imagine anyone here is foolish enough to think that. Mr. Speaker, there is no blank cheque support from me on this project until we know what it’s going to cost. Mr. Speaker, if we can say we knew what it cost five years ago, that is completely unacceptable because Cabinet comes to us practically every month and says by the way, this project costs more than it did last year or last month and by the way, we need an extra 10 or 15 percent. You know what? It doesn’t erode the fact that it’s an important piece of infrastructure. It just further casts into concrete how important it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's actually good news, because when I brought the Minister the phrase "spectacular" to line up with the NWT Tourism initiative, I was quite in favour of it, but I was a little hesitant to suggest it had to be that one, only because I thought a lot of discussion would have to go into this. Could the Minister explain, or possibly highlight, when he expects a new campaign to launch this will take place? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, may I remind Members, back in 1999, the GNWT split into two and Nunavut became their own territory. But, Mr. Speaker, since that time, we continue to share the same licence plate. Mr. Speaker, our licence plate, as well as theirs, says "Explore Canada's Arctic." I wrote a letter to the Minister of Transportation to say is this relevant, does this need to be looked at? I've also talked to the NWT Tourism Association and they think it's an important issue to at least examine and discuss. Can I ask the Minister of Transportation what has he done on this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Premier further outlining this process, but I would like to encourage him to not wait until the next table. We can probably deal with this as a side table issue because we have cottage country within reach of Yellowknife that we could get lawful people out there enjoying summer, enjoying winter, whatever the case may be. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier explain what enforcement means, because he just hinted that there would be some enforcement, and how will it be monitored. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement today, I spoke about the issue of recreational land availability around Yellowknife, in particular the Ingraham Trail. The issue, as I see it, needs to move forward and it’s an important issue. I would like to direct my questions to the Premier because it involves multi levels of government.

Mr. Speaker, is the Premier aware of any interim agreement or negotiations going on between DIAND, the Akaitcho, the GNWT to resolve the issue of squatters in and around Yellowknife because there is little enforcement and, further, is there any commitment...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise again to speak to the issue of squatters and land availability in the Yellowknife area. We know there is a big demand for recreational properties. We also know that because no new leases have been made available for many years, some people have helped themselves and went out to build structures, some more permanent than others, without permission or further legal right to be out there on that land. The area around the Ingraham Trail is particularly affected by these so-called trespassers or even squatters. There have been many previous debates in this House...

I will tell you, it was painful sitting here listening…

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like all my other colleagues here, probably every single one in this building would believe that good infrastructure is critical. It’s important to the growth of the Northwest Territories as a whole. It’s good for the people. It’s good for the people, it’s good for business, it’s good for everything. Mr. Speaker, just like the road to Tuk someday, just like the bridges and roads in the Sahtu and maybe the roads that link the Tlicho communities, good infrastructure to Yellowknife such as a bridge is a significant step forward for everyone. Mr. Speaker, I am...