Robert Hawkins

I’m not on the standing committee, so I will go to the Minister for his thoughts on that regard.

I have questions on page 13. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m going to ask about the leadership structure of Aurora College and how they’re tied into the Department of ECE. The reason I’m asking that is because last week I had asked questions about the capital planning for an Aurora College and how that process begins. To be clear and to make sure no one is fooled by my question, I’m not asking for the capital project this coming budget because we’re in an operations budget, so, as such, the planning is an operational issue.

Maybe if the Minister can enlighten us as to how the role of the Board of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are there any technical or planning documents on the needs assessments of the college that are being anticipated for this fiscal year that are specific to the college itself? Furthermore, what has the department developed, and how much money have they spent in the past two fiscal years to that end?

Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s mind, that horse may have been gone six years ago, but I can tell you it’s before the taxpayer for the next 35 years, if not longer.

Why didn’t the Minister of Transportation mention that we saved approximately $2.4 million on the operation and maintenance of the ferry and the ice road services? If I have to answer my own questions in this House, I’m going to ask the Minister what was left over with the $7.6 million needed to open up the bridge a year earlier. What were the benefits of opening it up a year earlier other than spending $7.6 million uselessly? Thank...

Over the last six years I’ve heard the Minister say there’s planning, discussions, planning and discussions, and more planning and discussions on the Aurora College. So what type of planning money has been committed that I’ve heard over the last six years? I’m trying to get a sense here, I asked for the last two fiscal years as well. So we hear the same answer over and over again, but now I’m hearing zero money. So I’m left to conclude that there’s some anomaly in his answers as he keeps giving them to the House about how much money he’s talked about planning for all these years. So the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2010 Ruskin picked up the defunct contract on the Deh Cho Bridge and took the price from $167 million to $182 million. In less than a year we needed an additional $10 million that pushed the contract to $192 million. In the spring of 2012, the McLeod government went even further by demanding $10 million that brought the project up to $202 million.

The question is to the Minister of Transportation. What value and services did the taxpayer of the Northwest Territories receive over and above the original 2010 signed contract with the GNWT and Ruskin? In essence, did we...

Okay. Where is that compendium and how is that compendium organized that is narrowly focused on the development of a campus for an independent campus for Aurora College? Again, speaking about this business plan compendium document full of this information on space utilization, availability, options, things along those lines.

You called it three times. I was starting to think you were desperate to get a nay there. Under recoveries, we have a million dollars noted for Nunavut museum and archive collection. I’m just wondering, has the department considered, sort of, drawing the line and saying this will be the last contract we will carry Nunavut’s, I’ll say, they’re historical items, archives, et cetera. As I understand it, we’re doing a bunch of work here to ensure that it’s kept up. Maybe if the Minister can use this occasion to describe what that money is being directed to, and is it costing the government any...

Thank you for that. I would be happy to receive that. Specific to developing a plan for Aurora College, is that an independent plan or is that part of the broad overall scheme of all the school systems?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand, as well as a lot of Members in this Assembly will stand, with Northerners. We feel we need to be meek no more and we want to stand up against big oil and corporate greed. I need not teach this House a lesson on cost of living. It’s something we all understand very well, but the problem is Northerners are being priced out and certainly being outpaced by the cost of living here in the North.

The status quo can no longer be defended by ignoring this problem. We must call these people and these protection measures to account by asking for regulation of gasoline. The...