This is page numbers 833 - 910 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 5th 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 chairman.

Topics

Further Return To Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 847

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we will make sure that the FAA is applied as diligently as we possibly can by all departments. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Supplementary To Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also ask him to include in his review information on future capital funding, or minor capital funding, for the Lady Evelyn Falls campground. Thank you.

Supplementary To Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Item 6: Oral Questions

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The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Financial Management Board, Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 847

Joe Handley

Joe Handley Weledeh

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I can do that. Again, looking into future years, whatever we build into future years is subject to review and subject to approval by the Legislative Assembly each year and so on. Looking at our future plans, they are certainly not clear commitments that we can make at this time. That is up to the Legislative Assembly, but I will include those as far as the department has developed them. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Question 289-14(5): Review Of Financial Administration Manual Directive
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 847

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for Housing, the Honourable Roger Allen. I would to ask the Minister if he can tell me how the department goes and makes sure the homes that are built for clients in the communities are not going to be costing the homeowners any extra dollars in future years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 847

Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to respond to the Member, as well as convey to the Members of this House, that we do have a standard warranty clause in all of our new construction. That warranty clause exists for approximately one year after the home has received final certification.

Also, for the Member's information, we also expect that we are maintenance free on the new units for a period of approximately five years. There are other warranties there that we have no control over, that may be done on the various products that are incorporated under the construction of a new home. I would like to make the Member aware that we are continually doing inspections. Thank you.

Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 847

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Upon making phone calls to the department, some of my constituents are being told that it is their own responsibility, but the Minister has said there is a maintenance free five-year time span. I would just like to know, how often do his department officials go into the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 847

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Further Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not familiar with all of the technical reporting procedures at this point. From a policy perspective, we expect our technical staff to be on site and to make sure that the final inspections are conducted in accordance with the construction standards, and that we have our staff communicating with the potential homeowners in the various stages. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 847

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, the department has to go back for a warranty check. If the department has not gone back to this date, I guess the department is responsible for a lot of repairs that have to be done now because they did not go back. I would like to ask the Minister if he can tell me if they will do repairs for some of the homeowners that have problems that arose from day one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 848

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Further Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to clarify my earlier point, we do have a warranty clause in effect for a period of one year after the final certification. What I was saying earlier is that the homes are hopefully maintenance free for a period of five years, just to clarify.

Once the individual signs off on the unit and takes possession of the unit, then they are responsible for the unit from then on. Yes, hopefully our technical people will be able to assist the potential homeowner to accept the unit as complete. From then on, Mr. Speaker, we expect the individual to assume full responsibility for the home. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 848

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Supplementary To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Leon Lafferty North Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if he can direct his department to go into my riding and look at all of the deficiencies that were there from day one for most of the homeowners, because the department did not go back to make sure there were no deficiencies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 848

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Further Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will undertake to discuss this further with the department and ensure the Member is satisfied with the results of our review. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further Return To Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By Nwt Housing Corporation Clients
Question 290-14(5): Maintenance Costs Incurred By NWT Housing Corporation Clients
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 848

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Bill Braden

Bill Braden Great Slave

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for Mr. Antoine, the Minister for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. It is about the diamond manufacturing and marketing industry in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, the issue I would like to talk about concerns the federal government's Competition Bureau. They have let several rules regarding what constitutes a Canadian product. They have just recently ruled, Mr. Speaker, that a Canadian diamond is one that is only mined in Canada, not made in Canada. I wanted to ask the Minister, given that Canada has a considerable market advantage over the issue of conflict diamonds, what does the international diamond market have to say about our Competition Bureau's ruling? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

Return To Question 291-14(5): Competition Bureau Ruling On Canadian Diamonds
Question 291-14(5): Competition Bureau Ruling On Canadian Diamonds
Item 6: Oral Questions

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Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the industry of polishing and cutting our own diamond products is very new in the diamond industry. We have been doing that for less than four years. As you know, the diamond industry has a long history in the world and we are very new in this industry.

However, since we as a government have been able to work with BHP Billiton to provide rough diamonds to three manufacturing companies in the Northwest Territories for the last three years or so, and with our work through RWED in the diamond projects area, we have developed the certification program, which is very well received with the different retailers and wholesalers who have been buying the product from our manufacturer. It is very well received in the world. I would leave it at that for now. Thank you.