Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

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

I rise today to give my voice to the clear opposition to any changes to the Supplementary Health Benefits Program. Mr. Speaker, taking away from seniors, taking away from families, taking away from everyday people is wrong and this needs to stop. At present, we’re all well aware that there’s a deferral of this policy on the table, but we’re not fooled over here. We know deferral just means delayed implementation, so please don’t fool us with this.

Mr. Speaker, I stand with the seniors, I stand with the everyday people on this problem. I’ll stand with them until the end because they are just trying to get by and this government has found a way to make it just that much harder. The changes to the health plans are bad, period.

The objectives are not sound; they were flawed from the beginning. There has not been real hard work done to show that they just do not have any more money. Show me that the last straw has finally hit the ground. Show me that every stone has been turned and they found every dollar and there is no more to find. Show me what work has been done on those 4,000 absentee health care cards and show me you’ve put a stop to that fraud. Show me the act of kindness this policy delivers. Show me the fairness and equity that this policy has demonstrated, because I can tell you there is none. Show me where you finally put an end to the endless deficit at Stanton and Beau-Del. Where has this government gone to find savings such as using generic drugs instead of brand names?

Mr. Speaker, let me put some numbers on the table: 50 people equal a million dollars in transfer payments to this government. That’s 25 families of two. That’s 12 families of four. People are looking at the door and they’re saying if this government

doesn’t want us, if this Territory doesn’t want us, I’m sure other places in Canada will welcome us. Mr. Speaker, there’s been talk about the gaps in the system. Just like Jerry McGuire says show me the money, show me the gaps, Mr. Speaker, because we’ve only heard about the gaps, but we haven’t seen the facts.

There are a lot of things that get wrapped up in this problem. What about the lost volunteer time? We all know that our seniors are one of the biggest contributing sectors in our economy to volunteerism. All of that will be gone; the multiplier effect.

We know practically one job affects four people. That is a serious worker effect to our economy.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you. I support the delay only to find a way to derail this. I do not support the delay as a way to further implement this plan. What we need is clear, concise, honest and open consultation, as has been said by many of the Members today.

If this government finds ways to make the cost of living here worse, who is going to want to stay? It’s hard enough attracting people to the North who are new, if we can’t keep the people we have dedicated here.

In closing, I think this is the wrong path. The people have spoken. I don’t know how many more names on a petition or any piece of documentation the Minister needs, but all she has to do is just tell us and we’ll get every single one of the requirements that she needs to stop this policy.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the opportunity to meet with the executive of the NWT Seniors’ Society at lunch hour and I’d like to just recognize…I know there are lots of seniors in the gallery and I am sure they will all be recognized in due course, but I don’t want to take up all the time. I’ll just say President Tom Wilson, Mr. Leon Peterson from Fort Smith, Ms. Barb Hood, executive director of the NWT Seniors’ Society, Esther Braden is sitting next to her, Ms. Eileen Collins from Hay River and Mrs. Bea Campbell from

Fort Smith. I see other members sitting there next to them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.

There are a lot of people I’d like to recognize in the gallery, but for the sake of time I’ll just focus on three constituents. I’d like to recognize Bob Malloy, Loretta Gamble, and Theresa Crane.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Michael McLeod.

I’d like to recognize a number of people from my home town of Fort Providence who are here for the first time, I believe, to watch the Assembly in action. We have Chief Berna Landry. Welcome to her. Some elders: Daniel Squirrel and Sam Elleze. We also have Irene Lafferty joining us and Michael Vandell is here, president of the Bridge Corporation. Victor Tambour is also somewhere in this building. I’ve seen him around. Also I’d like to welcome my sister-in-law Melody McLeod and Carter, who is here to witness his grandfather in action.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

I’d like to recognize Mrs. Eileen Collins in the gallery today. She’s president of the Hay River Seniors’ Society and vice-president of the Northwest Territories Seniors’ Society and has worked tirelessly to articulate the concerns of Hay River seniors with respect to supplementary health benefits and many other projects she’s undertaken.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

I’d like to recognize Ms. Bea Campbell as a past president of the NWT Seniors’ Society and Mr. Leon Peterson, current president of the Fort Smith Seniors’ Society. Welcome to the Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you. I would, too, like to recognize many people in the gallery: my constituents Loretta and Dick Abernethy, the Zaozirnys, Arlene Hache, and my lovely wife, Marianne. Big wave there. I also see Mr. Rick Edjericon, chair of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. Many of the

elders that I would also like to recognize, and city councillors Lydia Bardak, David Wind, Dave McCann, possibly others. Welcome all.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you. I’d like to recognize my wife, Melody, of 35 years, and my oldest grandson who turned five on Monday and he’s not here because it’s his birthday present, we’re just trying to get him started early. Also, some relatives and friends from Fort Providence: Irene Lafferty, Chief Berna Landry, elders Danny Squirrel and Sam Elleze. My Yellowknife South constituent Gayla Wick, and a long-time colleague, Floyd Adlem.

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

I would like to recognize pretty much everybody in the gallery. I can’t see anybody from where I’m at, so at the risk of leaving people out, I’m simply going to say welcome to the House to all the residents of Frame Lake.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Later today I will be submitting a petition on behalf of the NWT Seniors’ Society, so I wanted to recognize the president of the NWT Seniors’ Society, Tom Wilson, secretary Leon Peterson, vice-president Eileen Collins, past-president Bea Campbell, and treasurer Blake Lyons, as well as Barb Hood, the executive director. Also, I’d like to recognize Ms. Arlene Hache, recently named to the Order of Canada. Congratulations and thank you very much for all your dedication and hard work on social concerns here in the Northwest Territories, Arlene. Also I see there’s councillor Lydia Bardak, also a social advocate. Welcome to the gallery today and welcome to everyone else that’s in attendance.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.