Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, the way I see it right now is we could be spending money better and how could that be happening? I bet we could get further by spending $1 million on a television commercial that could air all across Canada for people in Canada, and maybe even we could wake up some of those parliamentarians down in Ottawa to see what is really happening up here. I think our resource money is being stolen. There is no Robin Hood stealing from the Northwest Territories and giving it back to the people, Mr. Premier. I think our Prime Minister should...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today to bring forward some of my concerns to a shepherd of our Assembly. I raised many questions in my Member’s statement today. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier if he knows whether or not the federal government will deduct from our grants the resources and revenues that the territory may collect in the future -- I stress may -- from the pipeline even if we do get a resource revenue agreement and deal. What does he have to demonstrate certainty; not his gut feeling, certainty? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, honourable colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I’ll say again, this bill includes permitting approvals and loan guarantees worth nearly $18 billion U.S. That’s $22 billion Canadian, as I’ve said. To make that point, as I’ve stressed, clearly that’s 24 times what the GNWT will get over our life of this project. Mr. Speaker, that does not make any fiscal sense. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT should be working with the Americas about buying off and sitting still for 20 years because we’d be much further ahead making a side deal than trying to charge into this in competition with...

The GNWT is investing so much money in the pipeline; we’re opening new offices, we’re hiring more people in the government, we’re doing assessment after assessment without really knowing what our return on the investment is going to be. If we took all the money that we have invested in the pipeline strategy and we put it into early childhood education or a stronger arts program or something better yet, such as youth, we’d be seeing real tangible results, Mr. Speaker. Real results. Mr. Speaker, as I see it, we are racing to build a pipeline, but unfortunately there is no race for the Americas...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I think about the Mackenzie Valley pipeline it raises a number of concerns for me; primary concerns such as what it will do to benefit northerners. We should be asking these questions for a long time. We had been, is the way I see it. At this time, I think we should know some of the answers before we break ground. Our return to the Mackenzie Valley pipeline for the Northwest Territories without a resource revenue sharing agreement is expected to be $900 million over the next 30 years compared to what the federal government’s share is, which is almost $22 billion...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear the actual number, so I suspect that will be a commitment to follow shortly, of course. Mr. Speaker, if I may entertain this a little further, noting section 3.4. This is an item noted many times by the Auditor General. We follow yearly agreements that have to get negotiated and when we finally get an agreement in place and money paid, they still hold back 10 percent. Mr. Speaker, is the Department of Health and Social Services working on an agreement so we get this done on a timely basis? Sometimes we have to wait over a year to start getting our money...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today because of an event that happened yesterday. The subject that I am going to talk about is certainly no stranger to this House. The sad thing is that it never gets enough air time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk today about the unsung heroes of this Legislative Assembly. Their names never get on any plaques. We never really talk about them very much. They never ever get paid. They very rarely get mentioned under any circumstance. Mr. Speaker, they are the backbone of every politician. Mr. Speaker, what I am really talking about is the commitment our...

Not Miss Lee. I hope that’s not misleading.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I’m just going to provide a comment. Recognizing how billings changed in the sense of elements they get more sophisticated. The fact that you have to move so much air, the fact that we’re basically talking about hard costs, fuel and electricity, I mean, things change. So I don’t know what more to say other than the fact that it’s a bit of a surprise. Maybe we should be asking the Minister to provide us the accounting mechanism used, rather than complaining about the fact that the number is wrong...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I may remind us all again, in 2002 we had almost $35 million outstanding. Of course, by the time that got paid out, we had to have a 10 percent holdback. As I’ve said earlier, in 2003 we had $25.4 million held back. Mr. Speaker, we’ve had the same Member of Parliament since 1988 with the Liberal Party. She’s been in Parliament. She’s been consistent. That would be the Honourable Member Ethel Blondin-Andrew. Since 1992, Mr. Speaker, it’s been the same government in power. So that’s a lot of years, Mr. Speaker. So my question is to the Minister of Health...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise with questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I’m going to bring to his attention the tabled document 2004 Report from the Auditor General that was tabled last week. Mr. Speaker, I read section three the other day and I was quite surprised -- which would be no surprise, I’m sure, to that Minister -- by the fact that the territorial government is bankrolling some of the responsibilities of the federal government to the tune of for the year 2003 almost $25.4 million for services that the federal government is responsible for. The...