This is page numbers 303 - 319 of the Hansard for the 13th Assembly, 7th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was corporation.

Supplementary To Question 108-13(7): Support For Tl'oondih Healing Society
Question 108-13(7): Support For Tl'oondih Healing Society
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Roland.

Further Return To Question 108-13(7): Support For Tl'oondih Healing Society
Question 108-13(7): Support For Tl'oondih Healing Society
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will get that information for the Member.

Further Return To Question 108-13(7): Support For Tl'oondih Healing Society
Question 108-13(7): Support For Tl'oondih Healing Society
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral question. Mr. Henry.

Seamus Henry Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to Minister Kakfwi on the Labour Standards Act. I made a statement earlier today on it, and I spoke about the plight to get much needed changes to the Labour Standards Act. My questions are to the Minister and the first question, Mr. Speaker, is could the Minister of Justice advise this House when legislative changes to the Labour Standards Act will be presented to the Members of this Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Minister of Justice, Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would hope to be able to go to Cabinet with a legislative amendment proposal within the next month or so in time, perhaps to have it dealt with if Cabinet agrees to have it dealt with, for the June session. That is the tentative schedule that I have in mind. Thank you.

Return To Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Supplementary To Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Seamus Henry Yellowknife South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question to the Minister is, have those amendments been prepared by the Department of Justice, the legislation, has it been prepared? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

Further Return To Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, they are being prepared by the Department of Justice at the present time. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Question 109-13(7): Amendments To Labour Standards Act
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is, I am not sure, for the Minister of Public Works Services or for the Premier, but I will let them decide. Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I do appreciate the Honourable Vince Steen tabling this report in the House yesterday done by McLennan and Ross with respect to the Department of Public Works and Services. My question is who, and when was it decided, to undertake this review? Who decided it, and when was it decided? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Just by way of process, the Premier can address a question if the Minister is not in the House. In this case the Minister is. The Minister of Public works and Services, Mr. Steen.

Return To Question 110-13(7): Report To Minister Of Pw&s On Issues Raised By Conflict Of Interest Commissioner
Question 110-13(7): Report To Minister Of Pw&s On Issues Raised By Conflict Of Interest Commissioner
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Vince Steen

Vince Steen Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not clear on the exact answer to the Member, so I will take the question as notice and get back to her. Thank you.

Return To Question 110-13(7): Report To Minister Of Pw&s On Issues Raised By Conflict Of Interest Commissioner
Question 110-13(7): Report To Minister Of Pw&s On Issues Raised By Conflict Of Interest Commissioner
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The question is taken as notice. Oral questions, Mr. Morin.

Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In reviewing Hansard yesterday, Mr. Speaker, I guess I am a bit confused because there seem to be contradicting answers in Hansard from the Minister of RWED. Maybe the Minister could just clarify for me which is the right one, or the wrong one, or how he could clarify this for me. When he was responding on page 462 of Hansard yesterday, Mr. Speaker, he says:

We have asked the new president of the Development Corporation, Mr. Koe, to prepare, with the assistance of the board of the Development Corporation, a new business plan with a reduced operating budget for this year. I believe the meetings between the deputy minister of my department and Mr. Koe, the new president of the Development Corporation, they have started as of today.

That was yesterday.

They have begun to undertake work to review the operations of the Development Corporation and to see how it could perhaps improve on the way it operates.

Some of the questions that come up, Mr. Speaker, for instance, are the size of the headquarters operations and the amount of money allocated to Arctic Trading, which is the marketing arm of the Development Corporation. Then on page 469, the Minister states:

in regard to how will we market the products that are produced in our communities and when will the business plan be ready to reflect that. I would say that Arctic Trading can continue if the president and the board believe it is the best way to market. The challenge, as I said, is for the new president and the board to prepare a business plan that will allow them to continue operating a headquarters and Arctic Trading, if they wish.

These are the responses we got yesterday, Mr. Speaker. I ask the Minister, are these responses accurate today? Thank you.

The Speaker Samuel Gargan

The Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Kakfwi.

Return To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I always try to provide straightforward answers the best I can. Sometimes it is not always possible to be short and succinct and to the point. That was the reason I said at one point that I did not want to end up quibbling about the details and there I meant, as Members know, Mr. Soloy was the president of the Development Corporation for the last number of years. He recently left to get into private business. Mr. Koe is now the new president, appointed by the Premier. We had an interim president, Mr. Joe Handley, we had an ongoing board, members from Nunavut whose terms came to an end at the end of March. We have had new appointments of boards, so it is important to make sure that we are clear about who made what decisions at what times.

The answers that are in Hansard, I agree may not be very clear, but I think probably when we get into Main Estimates and presentation of our budget and have a more free-flowing discussion regarding the plans for the Development Corporation, Members will be in a much better position to pursue the kinds of questions that they were asking yesterday. In the meantime, I am trying to answer questions the best I can and I have also reviewed Hansard and there is nothing in there that is misleading concerning the answers I gave yesterday and I stand by them. Thank you.

Return To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Morin.

Supplementary To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister may think it is quibbling on small details, but when a major shift in the Development Corporation is happening, Mr. Speaker, that is not a small detail. The Minister has 12 years experience. The Minister has the ability to know, or he should know, what is happening within his Development Corporation that he is ultimately responsible for. I have already quoted from Hansard two of his answers and he goes on also on page 469 to say, "I believe that it was the view of the staff and the people in charge of the Development Corporation that following Mr. Soloy leaving that we could no longer rationalize and continue to operate these outlets in southern Canada and that business decisions had to be made and they were made." So it was a business decision made that contradicted the two previous statements I just quoted. It was a business decision made. He quotes a business decision was made, so he must know about that business decision. What was this business decision that was made, and who made it? He must at least know that. Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Mr. Kakfwi.

Further Return To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Mr. Speaker, we have products that are produced by some of our communities and subsidiaries here in the north that have historically been sold through private outlets. In recent years we have opened up exclusive outlets in the south. It is my understanding that they have been losing money, and they have been losing money consistently. Therefore, I understand it to be a straight business decision to close those outlets and to find a different way of marketing our products to the south. It is clear that we do not need exclusive outlets in order to market our products and without waiting for a review I understand the decision to close some of these outlets was made. I am not clear at this time whether Mr. Soloy made that decision, whether it was Mr. Handley, but it was the reason I took the question as notice yesterday. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Morin.

Supplementary To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am getting more and more confused by this Minister. Now he states that a decision was made, but he stated yesterday in regard to how well we will market the products that are produced in our communities and when will the business plan be ready to reflect that, "I would say that Arctic Trading can continue if the president and the board believe it is the best way to market. The challenge, as I said, is for the new president and the board to prepare a business plan that will allow them to continue operating a headquarters and Arctic Trading, if they wish". Now the Minister says, no, there has been a decision made. He does not know who made it, he is responsible for it, does not know who made the decision that these places have been closed because they are losing money. So this statement here is not a totally true statement, then, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On Nwt Development Corporation
Question 111-13(7): Veracity Of Minister's Statements On NWT Development Corporation
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. I do not have the Hansard in front of me but yesterday some questions were asked in which those questions were taken as notice, understand, and those questions cannot be asked again until the Minister responds to them. I am just trying to find the section with regard to the rules on the question that is taken as notice. I would like to ask the cooperation of the Members that the only questions that you can ask relating to a question that has been taken as notice is you can ask the Minister when you can expect the response. Where the question has been taken as notice, the question cannot be asked until it has been responded to by the Minister. Mr. Morin.