Robert Hawkins

I keep telling the Minister we’re leaving thousands of dollars on the table, whether it’s through WCB… We charge through WCB but we don’t charge through federal programs where they provide individual insurance. Mr. Speaker, I’m asking the Minister what do we do to make sure we’re collecting all the fees and services, and I’ve pointed out whether it’s insurance through, for example, auto insurance, like I said last week, whether it’s getting full payment from Nunavut on services we provide to them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to express some serious concern and caution to this Cabinet before us. I speak in favour of the Taltson Hydro Project, but I need to see some results. We’ve all heard about how great this project may be, and I certainly support any hydro expansion in our North. But when I talk to industry face to face, they show no interest in this project. They stall and don’t move to make any agreements with the Government of the Northwest Territories. The longer this process takes, there will be no diamond mine industry for them to extend the power to.

We need to have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with all those inquiries the Minister has talked about, I think that’s a significant milestone in the sense of showing that there is attention on the North as a marketable option for people to do this work. The issue really comes down to are we actually getting them here to run those cameras, get those actors acting and the film crews filming. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to hear if the Minister, recognizing that there seems to be interest in the North, would he work, in his review, to help develop a program just like made in the North. Perhaps we could develop a...

I’d like to thank my supporting cast in this expose, my thespian, the Minister McLeod. Mr. Speaker, the issue really is about not just attracting issue, but it’s equally weighed with helping to develop the industry. Now, we have some very dedicated and, I’m going to stress, significantly talented filmmakers here in the Northwest Territories, but without the types of resources, which are very expensive, it’s very difficult to get off the ground. In the recent example I talked about, Ice Pilots, they had to bring everyone up from the south to do the work here, and they couldn’t do the editing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk about the potential of the film industry in our Northwest Territories. We have such a wealth of people, scenery, and landscapes to showcase to the world, yet it seems a shame that we don’t have more films being produced here in the North.

It’s true that we’ve had many talented independent filmmakers who have worked on commercials and entertainment projects, but with the few grants available through the NWT Arts Council it makes it tough for them to be established and working. We know Western Arctic Moving Pictures. They work very hard on showcasing...

Mr. Speaker, the Minister highlights a financial pot and by itself it does sound quite significant. I will acknowledge that. But the problem is a lot of people are coming to the table, and when they all split up the pie it ends up being very small, and that industry does need some serious focus to help keep it moving forward and to continue to develop.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has been, or I should say it sounded pretty clear that he made a commitment to review the program as what we offer for the film industry, but I’d like to ask the Minister specifically, what does Industry, Tourism and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today will be to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and it goes back to my Member’s statement today where I talked about the film industry. Mr. Speaker, my Member’s statement, really, the crux of it really was getting at the fact that the foundation for the film industry has certainly been planted in the Northwest Territories, but I’m not sure it’s been cultivated and grown properly. I think we still have a significant amount of potential out there to continue and grow.

So, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Industry...

I want to thank the Premier for highlighting all of Cabinet’s priorities and the issue I raised last week like Mildred Hall, Sisson’s needs renovations and those are the priorities of those school boards. As my colleagues Mr. Krutko and Mr. Menicoche have said, priorities of communities saying they want health nurses. Mr. Speaker, these are priorities that are found, they’re born, developed and brought forward from the communities to this Legislature. Those are the issues. How do we make them priorities of this House? Because Members here are trying to raise priorities in our communities and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement today I talked about the relationship of this House and how we propose ideas and sometimes, if not most of the time, we feel like they get shot down. Mr. Speaker, I am going to have questions for the Premier, who I think is best suited for this type of question.

Mr. Speaker, I try to be a stalwart defender of consensus government, but sometimes, if not most of the time, it feels like it’s a one-way valve. I would like to ask the Premier what he does to advocate particular issues on our behalf when we raise them such as new schools or...

We know the money is chopped up at the Cabinet table but we will not stand for this. We need Cabinet to realize we have priorities that represent our communities and constituencies and they’re very important. When an MLA brings forward an issue, quite often you’ll hear from the Ministers a relentless defence of it and you’ll hear the Five-D Approaches, as I like to call it: the Minister will defend, defer, delay, and sometimes deflect and defy the issue over and over. I had to add another one because they divide the House on the issue. The Ds just keep rolling.

When do you hear from the Cabinet...