Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’ve heard much today and in the days and weeks building up to this situation, whether it played out in the media or to the event here today. We’ve heard much today about the need to look again at the initiative. There’s been some very good comments made by folks around the table, but I need to set the record straight on a number of things. Number one, this is not a Minister Miltenberger initiative. This is an initiative that was originally looked at through the exercise of board reform that spilled over from previous governments and was supported by the 16th Assembly. Now, the
work done to that moment to where we are has been undertaken under the lead hand of Minister Miltenberger and he’s taken that duty and he’s run with it and he’s put his energy into that.
Now, of course, as he’s stated recently and he continues to state, that if this was to proceed, we were working to the April date, not a decision for implementation, but a decision of what the next steps that will be, so we can sit down and put lots of the information Members have stated and have raised as an issue of -- the lack of information -- on the table.
With the motion that Members have put out here, Mr. Speaker, the need to look at this again and initiate a process without a predetermined end point with full public input and find efficiencies that improve the effectiveness of government processes and board structures. We do that in conjunction with our employees that deliver the program. We do that with the Members of this Assembly. We do that with aboriginal governments and First Nations. I would agree that we are going to take a different step, a different approach. We need to do that type of work and incorporate their input into this whole process. Obviously, the work that has been done previously by previous governments is not adequate to continue this process as the way it was highlighted here. I must say, though, that one of the Members -- the Member for Kam Lake -- spoke about, and quite a number of times, spoke in this House about past decisions, about past governments and how poor those decisions were.
But when we reference past work by governments it’s sloughed off and no attention is paid to that. We have to take the work necessary to do proper implementation, for sure.
Now, also there was a call as process, Mr. Speaker, and for the public, because there was a call made out for the public and the people in the gallery that the process used when it comes to a motion of this House that it is a recommendation to government. Being a recommendation to government, our practice has been that we will sit and we will abstain from the vote and we will watch and see how the vote occurs in the House. Clearly, all Members are in support of that and we will take that under advisement. In fact, I would say that we would agree there needs to be a different process to this. In fact, I have approached the chair of the Priorities and Planning in hopes of finding a way past this, the next steps of we can look at this and try to come up with something that works for the people of the Northwest Territories. I think that’s the important thing here. Nobody here is looking for a fight, Mr. Speaker. I save that for the ice.
---Laughter
And it’s been many years and I don’t encourage it.
Mr. Speaker, the Cabinet process is one where we will watch the House and we will take that under recommendation. I would say now with the fact that there’s a motion here, we need to look at it, we need to work with committee, we need to work with aboriginal governments to come up with a better plan, because, as I believe the Member for Tu Nedhe had mentioned about the students, at the end of the day this is all about what we’re trying to do for the people of the Northwest Territories; not for government structures, not for the system as it is. We’re trying to improve how we deliver the programs, because many a times, and we can go to Hansard from this Assembly, from previous Assemblies, about the concern that’s raised around the delivery of housing, how it’s delivered in communities, the delivery of health care, how it’s delivered in communities, if there’s enough nurses, doctors’ visits, dental visits. As well, the quality of education has been raised numerous times during budget process, during questions in the House. That’s the impetus for looking at change. It is not just necessarily a southern contractor coming up with an idea, throwing it on the table and saying make it happen and it shall be done. No, Mr. Speaker, there has been much work done.
I can recall back in 1999 when I held, at the time, the portfolio of Health and Social Services, and back then Minister Miltenberger held the portfolio of Education, Culture and Employment. We approached the boards at one point and said we need to start working together to deal with the
student that has trouble in the school room but has a health issue where the two departments can’t work together because of privacy policies; where an issue may spill over because of a housing issue but there are privacy policies. It’s that case management that we need to focus on and try to change so that we can fix the issues that people are facing in our smallest communities. It is a blessing the fact that if many of us that are healthy and don’t have to use those facilities, don’t have to see the doctor that often, and have good health care provision in our communities. We’re blessed with that, for sure. But there are many people who end up crossing all the boundaries, whether it is housing, education, justice, and our health care system. In fact, it’s such an issue, not just for the Territories but the rest of the country. For example, Mr. Speaker, between governments, even there needs to be a better system in place. I use the Jordan’s Principle as an example of where departments and governments had too many structures in place that didn’t allow an individual to get the proper kind of treatment that was needed. This is what was intended with trying to make some change.
We’ve heard from Members of this Assembly, we’ve heard from the people of the Northwest Territories, and would say that with the motion as its worded we would be supportive and look forward to sitting down with the Members on the next steps. How do we take the work -- some of it needs to be put aside, some of it is good work that gives us the detail that Members have started asking about -- how do we structure it, how do we look forward and how do we make it better for the people of the Northwest Territories? We continue to do that and, in fact, we will continue to do that. As one of the Members pointed out, that our fiscal situation isn’t better and it isn’t going to get better, so we need to find out how we can continue to operate or improve on the delivery of our systems in the Northwest Territories. That would be our goal overall.
As for apples, oranges, bananas, well, I guess if the Members stuck with that, we can make fruit salad and at least share that with the folks. Realistically, there are challenges when it comes to the professions in education, in health care and in housing. We fully recognize that and we know that’s a huge task, but we will definitely take this under advisement. I look forward to sitting down with Members to try and come up with a better approach as to how we can make it work for the people we represent in the spirit of consensus government.
---Applause