Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Lee asked my questions, so I will forego my question.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I didn’t have a Member’s statement, but I will tell you that when the Honourable Henry Zoe brought up this dedication to Rick Tremblay, it moved me to stand and say a few words.

Rick Tremblay was a lot of things to many of us. I met him in Fort Simpson when I was a young man. Seeing the dedication of this Inuit-style wrestling manual going in his name is very moving, I am sure, to his family. It surely brings warmth to my spirit and I can only imagine what it means to his family.

Rick, to many of us in Fort Simpson, was a lot of things. He was coach. He taught me...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and again, thank you, Mr. Minister. Since I have come onboard four months ago, I have been a strong advocate for the GNWT to proceed in the public services model to open up the accountability process in a sense of non-partisan. Therefore, we can get true representation and a clear representation that we are implementing our public service policies in a fair manner. It has also been pointed out that maybe we are not digging deep into the recognition of the affirmative action policy and it not being represented or accurately being responded to as the desire, or I...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Maybe if the Minister could elaborate a little further, and I'll set this out clearly so I completely get a good picture of this. As I see it, we get a deposit on the bottle, the bottle goes out, gets returned, the deposit is returned to the customer who returns the bottle, but we leave the bottles with the depot. Do we pay the depots a contracting fee, is that why we leave them the bottles? I would think that we would take the bottles and do something with them if that's the case. How does the depot make their money? Do we pay them separately on contract and the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Speaking on that note, I do appreciate the fact of the breakdown of what other income means, as well as the actual breakout of the numbers, but you did bring me to another subject under other income when you referred to the deposit of bottles. I assume the deposit of the bottles, that fee goes back into a fund that pays out people when they return the bottles. Is that correct?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Minister. The Minister indicated that next year we would have to be a little more aggressive, to the tune of $20 million. I am looking for a forecast of what we may expect. Is it the Minister’s intent that we could be looking at hiring freezes, wage freezes, discussions with the unions on drastic changes? He set out a very passionate and aggressive target for himself, which I admire. In his position, you have to be good. So I am waiting with glee to see some of these ambitious projects. Are hiring freezes, wage freezes or discussions with unions some...

Thank you, Madam Chair. First I want to make an observation. When a Member has a very good question, I seem to hear the click and it appears the Minister is reading from notes. So I have to compliment his staff on his excellent replies back.

Madam Chair, I just happened to notice under expenditures and categories, it does cause me some concern when I read under grants and contributions, 42 percent of the budget goes to grants and contributions. When we are scrambling to make adjustments with our payroll tax and just tax in general on people, it causes me some stress that we could have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Then at this time I'll ask the honourable Member if he will provide a briefing note to all Members. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday in the budget address there was a line item of $300,000 directed at assisting land-use planning studies, new technical investigations and other items related to development. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister of Finance is when will tax-based communities receive similar treatment? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I may draw your attention to page 4 of the budget address, there’s a quote in there that says current projections show this virtually unchanged at $70 million. That refers to our deficit. Now it also points out, going a little further into the quote, it says, from the Finance Minister yesterday, we project a $46 million operating deficit for 2004-2005 and that was with some very classy intervention with raising some taxes, creating some revenues, finding some money. But the obvious question that has caused me some concern is, has the Finance Minister...