Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the heightened security environment that we all live in today, more and more people are being asked to produce photo identification in the course of their day-to-day routines. Although drivers’ licences are primarily intended to show that a person is qualified to operate a motor vehicle, in reality people do rely on them for proof of their identity in a number of situations. Many organizations, including banks and airlines, consider them a standard piece of identification. For many people, their driver's licence is the only kind of standard ID that they...

Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to consider making these adjustments I have noted to our territorial driver’s licence? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Minister. Can the Minister give us some examples of what kinds of new standards and requirements are likely to come forward as recommendations to be adopted for a new standard of driver’s licence? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, referring back to my Member’s statement, the NWT driver's licence, as I see it, is an important piece of identification that in these days of increased security is being more and more criticized for authenticity. Therefore, it demands quality, safety and security around our country with those needs in mind. That is why national standards need to be developed.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Transportation what is his department’s involvement, if any, in a discussion to develop a national standard for driver’s licences? Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing the time I will drop my fourth question and just ask a yes or no question to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, would the Premier be able to answer yes or no, clearly and for everyone’s benefit? Would he be willing to consider stopping this project and re-tendering it in a way that it would include the BIP and making that decision this week?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m going to question the Premier in regard to my concern about waiving of the BIP. Mr. Speaker, the other day I quoted from the policy, therefore, I will not start with that. With the steps being presented and some of the concerns of other Members and in recognition that the policy can be waived and it’s not law, what steps has the Premier taken to ensure that the waiving of the business incentive policy will not become a frequent practice of this Cabinet? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In short, we are seeking clarity and consistency. With a government that has priorities all over the map, I want to say at the end of my term, I was part of a government that listened, then acted and achieved results on an issue that is of real importance to all northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Premier. Mr. Speaker, a constituent called me this morning and talked about the laws of economic opportunity that his business will lose; the fact that he may be bidding on this project just to keep his employees employed by waiving his potential of profit. Does the Premier recognize that this potential exists by northern companies trying to aggressively bid on this project at any cost to keep their employees employed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise on our last day of this session to talk to you about one of the important issues. I was going to talk to you earlier about issues such as tourism and the fact that this government treats tourism almost like an ugly cousin who is twice removed. But, today, I want to finish this session with the way I started it, to talk to you about legal aid.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that this government could be doing better. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have good people working out there who make legal aid happen. I believe we have dedicated people who are not...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in this particular case I'm going to state that I will be supporting this adjustment. Although very unusual probably for me to be enthusiastic about a tax increase, $7.54, under the $68,000 taxable income bracket, basically could represent a box of Tim Horton's doughnuts. So I don't think that's going to have a significant impact on that tax bracket.

The other side of the taxable income of $110,000 plus, the increase being $227 per year, we are really only talking about $15 a month so I don't think that will have a significant impact on that bracket...