Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr Speaker, today I am going to dial into the 911 issue and I certainly hope the Minister of MACA is willing to pick up the call and the urgency of this concern.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has talked about not being able to help facilitate this problem even though it helps 77 percent of the population of the Northwest Territories. So I’ll take a different approach.

The NWTAC, that’s Association of Communities, 27 of the 33 communities have supported the 911 initiative over the last three years. I am just curious as to what is holding the Minister back with that type of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to highlight some of the successes the RCMP are having in their efforts to curb the supply of illegal drugs coming north into our communities. It should be no surprise to anyone that all Northerners have come to see the members of our RCMP as significant pillars of our communities.

Now, outside of the world-class symbol of service policing and community involvement that we all know very well, much of their work is largely done behind the scenes and gone unnoticed like a well-oiled machine.

This, in my view, is a clear testament to the high degree of quality...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Northwest Territories seniors have participated in the Canada 55-plus Games since 1998;

AND WHEREAS more than 100 Northwest Territories seniors from a variety of NWT communities have expressed an interest in participating in the Canada 55-plus Games in Brockville, Ontario, in August 2010;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories has previously contributed towards the costs of the Northwest Territories seniors’ participation in these events;

AND WHEREAS assisting seniors in keeping active and engaged in healthy activities is entirely consistent with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, November 9, 2009, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories contribute $50,000 to support Northwest Territories seniors’ participation in the Canada 55-plus Games in August 2010; and further, that the government consider providing funding through the Northwest Territories Sport and Recreation Council to ensure the ongoing participation of the Northwest Territories seniors at future...

Mr. Speaker, I will respectfully disagree. What is exactly the ruling on getting enhanced 911 services that cause or force the mobility companies to put cell phone services in our communities? Thank you.

May I thank the Minister for moving right into my next question ever so perfectly. He talks about priority. Mr. Speaker, the priority is that when this initiative first was born, MACA was one of the leaders in this initiative. When he talks about some people backed away, Mr. Speaker, that’s because people are tired of waiting for the initiative to come together. It’s really only focussed on the fact that it’s a funding issue with a couple of these communities that have backed away and that is 27 out of 33 communities that support this. Speaking of numbers, seven of the 33 communities represent...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. For example, just four weeks ago, two men from Calgary were arrested within a short period of time of showing up here in Yellowknife on charges of trafficking crack cocaine. In the end, this continues to be a great reminder that we have the best people working hard to keep these activities off our streets.

In closing, I am profoundly grateful that we have these men and women who want to do this tough job of law enforcement and the work they do is a job very well done. I am sure Members will agree with me that these people deserve our respect and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the northern regulatory process. In 2007-08, the federal government contracted Neil McCrank to prepare a report called The Road to Improvement. It was a report about where he recommended several changes that should be made to our northern regulatory process. Of course, this was just the last of many reports that have been made of these issues about our burdensome and convoluted northern regulatory process.

Mr. Speaker, it needs to be coined up and, in my opinion, it needs to be simplified and timely. A regulatory process is key to attracting...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories consolidate its policy and guidance on contracting into one easily accessible document that links all information necessary to award and administer contracts, including incentive and preference agreements; and further, that the government foster the activities of the Procurement Council; and furthermore, that the government provide procurement and contract administration-specific training.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You may recall that the Standing Committee on Government Operations tabled Committee Report 2-16(4), Report on the Review of the Auditor General on Contracting for Goods and Services in the Northwest Territories on October 22, 2009...