Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the need to work through the red tape and perhaps even create a process that would deal with red tape. Not more red tape, of course.

I’d like to ask questions today to the Minister responsible for the Strategic Investment Committee on Refocusing Government. My first question to that Minister would be: what has this government done through its programming and efforts to reduce red tape for small business and can they cite a few examples? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for refocusing government, Mr. Michael Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The primary initial focus of the Program Review Committee has been on identifying efficiencies within government, things like the proposal to build an office building in Yellowknife, the work that’s been done on the pupil/teacher ratio on the inclusive schooling, on the medical travel, and a host of other areas. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, has the government consulted at all with small business in any form on the initiative of red tape and how the government can respond to the needs and requirements that have been created by the administrative burden through the bureaucracy in its requirement and hunger and thirst for more paper? Has the Minister engaged small business? Thank you.

I, as well, have met with the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses to have lunch with them and talk about some of their concerns. I will point out, back a number of Assemblies ago there was a division or a group within government that was struck to look at red tape, but there’s nothing current that I’m aware of. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister’s effort in trying to answer the question. But, really, other than meeting with them, it doesn’t sound as if anything’s really come of it. What’s stopping the Program Review Office, as a lead Minister as well as, of course, a departmental Minister where the Program Review Office sits, what’s stopping the Minister from launching the program review team on this type of initiative, engaging small business to ensure that we’re helping them fulfill their paper requirements by dealing with the red tape problem? Thank you.

I was remiss, Mr. Speaker, as well, to point out that there is a recent initiative called BizPaL that was structured and put in place to, in fact, help small businesses navigate through government and deal with government. In regard to his specific question, I will commit to the Member that we will put that issue on the next agenda for the Refocusing committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to give credit where credit is due regarding BizPaL. That was an initiative put into action by, I believe, Minister Bob McLeod. I would be remiss to mention, though, it was my idea coming from this side of the House to that side, so we should share credit.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister did say the last time I brought a red tape initiative, or I should say to deal with the challenge, that he would bring it to the Refocusing Government committee and nothing happened. There was no reply. I’m just wondering how does the Minister see that we’ll address this particular issue the second time around. Thank you.

I have no present memory of the Member raising this issue before. If he has and I have forgotten it, I apologize. I will personally report back to him following our next Refocusing committee meeting.

I would point out that probably the ultimate remover of red tape for us, especially when the Members talked about regulatory reform and such, is going to be devolution. When we take over authorities in the Northwest Territories and we can adjust our systems, when we’re not reliant on systems and programs and regimes that have been set up by a government 5,000 miles away, that we will, in fact, be able to be much more effective, I believe, and much more responsive to the needs of Northerners. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Seniors, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister responsible for Seniors, the issues that MLAs and our residents bring forward to my office pertain to various government departments and programs. I work with the relevant departments and

their Minister to resolve some of the issues. I’m not familiar with the particular case that the Member brought up, but I’d be happy to look into the situation and see what we can do and what has been done. Thank you.

That’s the point I want to make with the Minister. What mechanisms would make her familiar with some of the issues that the different departments have to deal with seniors? It seems like things are still not quite yet connected as the Minister responsible for Seniors, in terms of giving them a strong voice within the departments to tell the Housing go to Fort Good Hope, fix this senior’s house up. This senior’s wife is crippled. The senior was living on the land. The senior comes back and yet the house is not done. What is this Minister doing to make sure that there’s a strong voice for the seniors? Because right now it doesn’t seem like we have it.

As the Member knows, all of the Ministers here work with the other Ministers when issues are brought up. When I was in Fort Good Hope we had heard from seniors about various issues, and on our return we had conveyed those concerns, whether it be housing or other departments. We’ve communicated those concerns to the respective Ministers. I will look into seeing how that was followed up, Mr. Speaker.

The Member knows that a Minister does not direct another Minister to do things, but, obviously, we work together to resolve issues that get brought up the by Members and residents. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister, in terms of being a responsible Minister and being responsible for the seniors, there doesn’t seem to be a very strong voice for the seniors, coordinating the different departments to help the seniors. As, again, a case in point, this senior, his house was frozen up. It’s been like that since even last Friday. It doesn’t send a good message that we’re taking care of our seniors. How does it, within the government, coordinate these types of issues to get looked at as a priority for our seniors? It doesn’t seem like it’s working, no matter what type of system we have. I want to ask the Minister if she is interested or willing to look at different mechanisms, that this senior doesn’t have to sit for two months while his house is frozen up and run through all the bureaucracy and yet, as of last Friday, still no one has come over to fix their place.

Mr. Speaker, obviously there is an avenue for a Legislature or next Legislature to consider reorganizing portfolios for seniors or whatever. But from my personal point of view -- and I have had many discussions with the Member about this -- so many things that the seniors need and help with cover different departments and those departments are complex and they need to specialize in those areas, whether they be Health

and Social Services, or Housing or income security. Those on their own are vast programs.

Mr. Speaker, for now it appears that the Member has a very specific situation respecting an elder in Fort Good Hope who needs attention to his housing repair needs. I think, for me, I am interested in getting the information from him and see how we can solve that as soon as possible. I will undertake to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I bring up one specific issue in Fort Good Hope; there are many in the Sahtu on helping the elders. Maybe in other communities they may be the same. I am asking the Minister if she is now looking at the 17th Assembly to look at this. Is there anything in the works that could bring this discussion? I know we are both hoping to do it right away. Can the Minister look at some type of paper or discussion as to how we could help the seniors on various issues?

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member that this is a big issue in our small communities. There are a number of seniors who are in need of housing repairs and I think it is a multi-faceted issue. I think it is something that the government, in different departments, as well as local leadership need to work together on resolving this. Because in so many of our communities there is lack of capacity, lack of tradespeople, lack of programs to repair some of the not just houses but lots of things that go in the house like a furnace and all sorts of things. It is something I think the government should look into. I would be happy to have that discussion with the Housing Minister. But in the meantime, with this senior in Fort Good Hope that needs help from us, I would undertake to look into that right away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask some further questions to the Minister of ENR to follow up on some of the questions that I asked earlier to see if we can get some clarification as to what the department can do to advise our public and our residents about the results of the consultations that have happened relative to the Wildlife Act.

The Minister at one point, I think in his last response, said he didn’t know what I have in mind, so maybe I will try and explain to him what I do have in mind. There were numerous consultations. There were notes taken at those meetings. There were specific questions asked at those meetings. Presumably the department has answered those

specific questions. I would ask the Minister to compile notes of the meetings, compile answers to questions asked and concerns raised and publicize those. Will he do that? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.