The housing issues of many of my clients are very serious. Can the Minister assure me if the family situations and the day-to-day living situation is fully considered before the corporation decides to deny a client funding for a program? Thank you.

It’s the Housing Corporation’s intent to provide housing to those that are in need. The program advisors analyze family situations through the application process and each applicant meets personally with the program’s advisor and they have a priority allocation system that’s designed to ensure that assistance that’s provided to those that are in greatest need in the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many of the clients, at least in Tu Nedhe, don’t get out or are sometimes not aware of the timing of the delivery and so on. Can the Minister advise me if there’s an intention of the NWT Housing Corporation staff to visit the majority of the homes to do an assessment as part of the delivery of programs this coming fiscal year?

Regional staff are always visiting existing homes of applicants for the CARE program. They have to do that to determine the extent of the repairs that are needed.

For us to actually go door to door and go through the application process, there is information out there right now saying when the district staff are going to be in the communities taking applications and we need buy-in from those folks out there that want to be applying for housing programs. They have to be able to come down, I think in one of the Member’s communities, I think October 23rd is the

date that comes to mind, and the Member has actually been asked to be with the Housing district staff when they go in there. So we need buy-in from people out there that are applying for homeownership.

Obviously there are going to be cases where some folks can’t quite make it out because of disabilities and that, and those folks we would be able to go and see. But for the most part we need folks to come out there and fill out the applications and then we’ll go from there. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not going to pretend to speak on behalf of the former Minister, but we did undertake, as a government, to provide information and provide an education campaign under the Drive Alive strategy and we have moved forward on that. We have not, aside from the Member raising it on a couple of occasions, had any cause for concern regarding distracted driving and we are not currently moving forward with any legislation at this time. Thank you.

This morning I talked to the Minister and explained a story about what stirred this Member’s statement, that I had been recently contacted on Sunday by a constituent who actually saved a young person, potentially even their life or at least from serious injury, because a vehicle went around the corner and could have hit them. Now, Mr. Speaker, I can give other examples as well, but I brought that specific example to the Minister.

Mr. Speaker, why is this becoming a trend across the country and why is this even becoming a trend in the U.S., because they say that the National Transport Safety Board of the U.S. bans their employees from using cell phones while driving. So, Mr. Speaker, the evidence seems to be very clear and definitely pointing in one direction, which is banning the use of cell phones while driving

vehicles. So, Mr. Speaker, what will it take this Minister to consider this type of legislation and move forward on this issue as opposed to being asleep on it?

What it would take to get me to move forward on it would be to be convinced that there is an issue.

Mr. Speaker, the Member has had one instance and wants me to change legislation. So far what we’re doing on this issue is to look at what other jurisdictions are having to deal with on this. Currently it’s an issue in Yellowknife, if the Member is correct on the one instance that he’s referring to.

Cell phones do not work on our highway system, they don’t work in 22 of our communities, it’s not a huge issue for us. However, if he can bring me the names of all the people that are contacting him and present that as a concern, I’d certainly be able to reconsider. Thank you.

I have to say that the Minister’s answer was certainly disproportionate to the facts that exist today and the reality is several provinces are taking this on because they’ve done the research. The Canadian Medical Association agrees, Mr. Speaker. New England Journal thinks this is important. The National Transport Safety Board in the U.S. thinks it’s important. I’m not sure who is left that doesn’t think it’s important, other than the Minister, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what concrete position or evidence is the Minister looking for to actually entertain this idea and let’s get on board with it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I pointed out, there is no cell phone service on our highways and those are NWT roads. The municipalities have a mechanism to create bylaws that would ban cell phone services, not one of them has even come forward to consider that. We have legislation that already covers distracted driving as undue care and attention. I’d have to look at the information there, but up to now nothing has pointed to a real need except for the Member having somebody complain from his riding. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think today is clear evidence of downloading a responsibility, which is really a territorial issue. Mr. Speaker, the Minister keeps referring to the highway. You know what? We don’t have cell phone coverage so why would it be an issue on the highway? I mean, come on now, seriously. Mr. Speaker, I’ve been approached by two city councillors on this particular issue, as well as I raised it a year and a half ago.

Mr. Speaker, once again I ask the Minister clearly how much more evidence does he need? Would he like a digest brought forward? Would he like a piece

of every legislation that has enacted this process? I mean, we’ve heard at least six or seven provinces that are seriously looking at this or have implemented this. So, Mr. Speaker, the evidence is clear and certainly pointing in one direction, let’s get on and do this. Thank you.

The Member is correct; there are five other jurisdictions that have incorporated legislation in this area. I, however, am not convinced that there’s need for this type of legislation in the NWT. Creating legislation for legislation’s sake is not something that I plan to do. It’s expensive, it takes resources and, of course, that all adds up to a lot of dollars out of the department. So I can certainly commit that we’ll talk to the city and see if they share the Member’s feelings on the need for legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in my Member’s statement I was speaking on the Kiglavik elders facility and long-term care of Tuktoyaktuk. Will the Minister commit to evaluating the needs of the elders who are residing in the elders facility in Tuktoyaktuk?

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I’m correct about the building that the Member is talking about, I believe it’s a multi-complex that was built by the Housing Corporation as independent units. I believe I’ve been there a couple of times, but I need to be able to verify that. I would commit to the Member that I will undertake to see who is living in those residences and what their needs are. Even when we were touring there, it took some convincing on the part of the seniors to move in there. I don’t have the latest information on that, so I will undertake to do that evaluation and do the needs study.

Will the Minister commit to changing the services at the elders facility so that the elders do not have to be moved away from our home communities and moved into other elders facilities either in Inuvik or the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik?

Yes, I’ll be happy to review that. We do want to keep our elders as much as possible in our communities and that’s why that facility was built. I do need to look at the level of care that could be delivered there, as well as the needs of the residents who live there. Those would

be some of the things that we need to look at. I’ll get back to the Member on that.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that answer. I’m really happy. Would the Minister be prepared to work on a long-term plan to ensure that, whenever possible, seniors are supported as they grow older in their long-term home community?

My goodness. I don’t know. I think there’s only one answer to that question. I just want to say that we are, as indicated, doing long-term care needs NWT-wide and we will look at the situation in Tuk and get back to the Member.