Mr. Speaker, I’d like to reply — again I am changing my statement today to the Minister of ITI — to the Minister’s rather surprising announcement on the Advisory Panel on the Economy. This seems to be reflecting the ongoing and apparently typical modus operandi of this government to keep MLAs completely uninformed and certainly not to include their input. The vision this Caucus came up with was strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous territory. The Minister’s Advisory Panel on the Economy — well named as the Minister’s; certainly not anybody else’s that I know of — simply serves the community that is already benefiting from the roaring economy we already have. The basic principles of sustainability are to include economic development along with social sustainability and environmental sustainability. Those three pillars must be there for something to be sustainable — and to benefit all members of the Northwest Territories.
Let’s look at how this panel was formed. This Minister worked with the president of the NWT Chamber of Commerce — which I am sure has been enjoying the growth, as it should, but has a focus, as does all the development that has resulted in the homelessness, social issues and environmental issues this society is dealing with today…. Ten years ago and more there was an economic development strategy. A panel was put together that actually included representatives of the social and environmental community.
Mr. Speaker, we are regressing incredibly, and it obviously has gotten me very upset, because I know we can do so much better. There has got to be some basic understanding that develops here on this stuff. Let’s stop repeating the errors of the past. Let’s include representatives on these panels of all three legs of our stool here. Let’s try including the input of our MLAs and informing them so we can make sure such initiatives actually have some strength in them and aren’t destined to failure.