Mr. Bromley, your time for Member’s statements has expired.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

I have no problem with necessary travel adding to an employee’s travel point collection, but how are we sure a travel decision isn’t influenced by travel points rewards?

Perhaps there are lessons here for all departments. Video conferences and teleconferences are not the same as meetings in person, but at $7,000 in travel per employee across the entire government, I know that every travel authorization is not being critically reviewed before signing off. I will have questions for the Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I too wish to acknowledge our fantastic

students that are here in the gallery today. I was very impressed with their flash mob as well. It was clearly a statement that this generation is standing up to bullying and they’re certainly saying, in their own way, bully no more. I want to thank them for that.

I’d like to follow up on some concerns I expressed last week about the northern workforce at our mines. The Government of the Northwest Territories has negotiated and signed a total of five socio-economic agreements with industry over the last 17 years and this progress, in the sense of negotiation for Northerners, is a good thing.

Oil and gas exploration and new mineral development strategies are opening up the North, and there will be increased opportunities and developments and, potentially, jobs for Northerners. There is one particular problem. The only one out there who knows if these are Northerners working in the North is Revenue Canada because they’re the only ones empowered to audit the residency. Are we supporting paper Northerners or, as they are they commonly known, ghost Northerners?

I’m calling for more accountability and reliability on this particular reporting these mines must do. We’ve all heard the story about someone cashing in and getting that great job at the mine and then moving south. It’s time to deal with myth and fact. What is the reality before us? How many Northerners are truly northern hires and how many of the Northerners they’re reporting are true residents of the Northwest Territories? How many maintain a post office box and only check it here once every two weeks when they fly into the North to go to work and then they fly south to go live? Do we have a senate problem here in the Northwest Territories? Let’s get some health care cards, driver’s licences and tax information. Let’s prove it once and for all. True accountability for these jobs that are being reported. This is not about putting the spotlight on good behaviour, this is about emphasizing bad behaviour.

Several years ago the mining workforce was surveyed on residency issues but we need more solid information, clear reporting, consistent reporting, honest reporting, and perhaps maybe the only way to do it and make sure it’s done right is to get third-party reporting to ensure the mines are living up to their contractual agreements that they signed with the people of the Northwest Territories, not just the Government of the Northwest Territories but the people of the Northwest Territories.

I’ll be asking Minister Dave Ramsay, does he stand with Northerners or does he stand comfortably in the good arms of industry? Is he protecting their interests or is he protecting northern jobs that belong to northern people?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the presence in the public gallery today of our National Management Team from the National Francophone Economic Development Network, RDEE, and the CDETNO.

The National Francophone Economic Development Network is the sole national organization working to promote and coordinate economic development for Francophone and Acadian communities in Canada. They are holding meetings in Yellowknife this week. Ms. Andreanne Laporte, Rita Couture, Catheline D’Auteuil, Francis Essebou, Suzanne Druwe, Chantal Nadeau, Raymond Arsenault, Nancy Rousselle, Caroline Leblanc, Tanis Anctil, Genevieve Doyon, Batiste Foisy, Francois Fortin and Julie Gagne. Welcome to the gallery here today.

Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

I’d just like to welcome the N.J. Macpherson students that are here, all the students that are wearing pink. It’s a great day to wear pink. And all the supporters who are here with us in the gallery as well, mahsi cho for coming.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I represent the riding of Kam Lake in this Legislative Assembly and it’s a great riding full of great people, but it certainly has two great schools and one of those schools is well represented here in the gallery today, and that’s N.J. Macpherson. I just wanted to thank all the students, staff and parents that are up there for coming out here today to support Anti-Bullying Day.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize my constituency assistant, Ms. Leah Ipana, who is here chaperoning a couple of young ladies from Inuvik who are working as Pages, Ms. Chantal Grey and Ms. Lauren Cockney. I want to thank them and all the other Pages for the work that they do on our behalf.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my great pleasure to welcome the students from N.J. Macpherson here and I want to thank all of you for the flash mob. It was awesome. You guys did a

grand job. I’d also like to thank you for your very good behaviour here in the House; you are very impressive. You could teach a few other students in Yellowknife a few things. Thank you for that. I know that all of you here represent all of the ridings in Yellowknife. My riding is Frame Lake. I know there are some Frame Lakers up there. Welcome to you students from Frame Lake.

I would like to specifically recognize representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada who are here. I can’t quite see them all but I believe they are all here. Julie Docherty, Sandra Lockhart, Bob Haywood, Leon Nason, Lynn Simmons, and I would like to specifically recognize Lorraine Hewlett and her son Christopher Coomber. Lorraine is president of the UNW Local 1.

I cannot recognize a former colleague – I was going to say old but he’s not that old, our relationship is old – Mr. Roger Windle, who teaches at N.J.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure today to recognize in the gallery my sister, Janet. We both lead extremely busy lives. We seldom get to visit each other but she’s up in the North for a whole week and she’s going to join me in Hay River this weekend for the Kamba Carnival and then back up here to fly out of Yellowknife next Wednesday. A whole week with my sister. I’d like to welcome her.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce to you, and through you, you did mention some members here from the RDEE Canada, which is the... [English translation not provided.]… Again, he did a great job pronouncing those French words. We did have one person here who we should note is the executive director of the RDEE, who is Jean Leger.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again I want to take a moment to recognize our N.J. Macpherson students here. Ms. Bisaro is quite correct; it’s quite impressive, both their flash mob dancing as well as their behaviour here in the House. She’s quite correct that the way we’re seeing our students behave here today is so impressive, I agree with her that many people could learn quite a few things from the students. That said, this is the generation that is standing up to bullying and I thank them for that, because the line needs to be drawn and they’re certainly showing their support with their pink shirts.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to recognize Ms. Stella Nadia, the deputy mayor of the Village of Fort Simpson, up in the gallery here today. I just want to say that she is a champion of the new pool in Fort Simpson as well as a tireless volunteer in Fort Simpson. Welcome and enjoy the proceedings this afternoon.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is also my pleasure to recognize all the students here today and their teachers. I especially welcome those who are residents of Weledeh, which includes Ndilo, Detah and Old Town, Niven Lake, that area. Welcome.

I also would like to give special recognition to the representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and Lorraine Hewlett, who often stands up for the public interest.