Robert Hawkins

Well, I’m just going to leave it at that, but I want to highlight the fact that it’s being brought up by a lone opposition member again, in a party that’s not recognized as the Official Opposition, so it’s going to be treated as a far-down priority.

The fact is that we all know there’s a looming potential election coming up, and even if the Conservatives return, it’s a good time to start putting a full-court press on this issue. Maybe we can get some serious commitments in advance of a potential election. It’s good to continue citing or screening this issue toward southern candidates so they...

Mr. Speaker, I think some of my constituents in the last little while, over the Christmas season…. The issue of the Northern residency tax deduction has come up a couple of times now.

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, when you’re in the opposition party and when you’re proposing a new idea or a new initiative to the party that’s in government, we know that they respond to you like you’re a little mosquito, even if it is a good idea. They sort of say, “Good idea, but shoo!” You know, Mr. Speaker.

So instead of taking up this issue with our MP, who’s actually in the fourth party — or, I should say, our...

Mr. Speaker, I’ll accept that offer of following through on that potential communication plan.

To follow up on the real liability issues I highlighted in my Member’s statement, some days we can see that after minus 40, just like Air Canada, they don’t seem to fly. I’m curious that the pressures of the southern-built power stations…. Maybe that’s the issue.

What is the reliability problem after minus 40 that our power stations seem to suffer from? And what is the Minister doing about that?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member’s statement today, I talked about the need for residential treatment programs here in the Northwest Territories that focus in on youth and family. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health and Social Services was on this side of the House last term, so she is well aware that a motion that went forward that supported the treatment centre built in Yellowknife and in Inuvik and, of course, underlying all of that, not only being the Minister now, she had the experience of being the chair of the Social Programs so she understands the need of these...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the people concerned about the 12 outstanding issues I don’t think are in any way concerned about the bridge in principle. It is more about the nuts and bolts of this agreement to make sure it is online and on track. So, Mr. Speaker, I heard the willingness of the Minister to provide this. I just want to get some timelines on when we can actually see this document in front of us so we can really understand the fullness of what has been fully committed to this project. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Deh Cho Bridge has been a topic of much debate the last few days and I believe the November 30th date was to be a very important and critical date. I would like to know if the Minister of Transportation could give us an update on the status of the Deh Cho Bridge project to find out where it sits. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hold in my hand the NWT Arts Strategy, a copy of this, and it talks about the promotion of the arts. I just want to make sure that we’re singing from the same song sheet, that the Minister will ensure that he can get back to me and this House before February so we can have a good and lengthy discussion in advance of any type of budget session if there needs to be support on this type of initiative. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I heard about almost every priority in the world under that sort of umbrella of priorities. Mr. Speaker, I want to hear clearly where is the priority to build a treatment centre in Yellowknife and Inuvik, and can the Minister commit to bringing something clearly back to this House before February? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I wish the Minister would be the champion of this program as opposed to the Member having to be the champion of this program. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me how much money are we spending each year, every year, for the last several years sending people down south for treatment? I want to make sure we could maybe put this investment in the Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I wish to make special mention that today is Red Friday and I continue to wear red to honour our troops and the families, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, I spoke about the need to introduce and pass the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act in order to support the police and communities in getting rid of those drug dealers and bootleggers. Mr. Speaker, we need, of course, as many tools out there to clean up those streets for our families.

However, Mr. Speaker, today I want to talk about the other side of the equation. I wish to talk about...