This is page numbers 5035 - 5060 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was communities.

Topics

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to in the next 15 days advocate for the people in the Sahtu in terms of the equality of programs and services that this government here provides to residents in the Northwest Territories under our public governance system.

When I was in Norman Wells on a constituency visit I realized that 10 pounds of flour at the Northern Store ran about $37. People asked me to pick up some flour here in Yellowknife, which is about $10 or so for 10 pounds.

The inequality of this that we face in the Sahtu every day in terms of education because of the small communities that we have to go through the school system is not the same type of education we have in larger centres. We have to put up with it. We have to fight for the equality in terms of our students want to aspire to be surgeons or doctors or chemists and they just don’t have that level of support there of the other centres where some of the parents can support the children to go and get this type of education.

The same with access to health care. I’m very surprised that Colville Lake has, I think there’s a doctor goes in there every six months in terms of access to health care into the Sahtu and that we still have elders who live in our communities to be housed in Yellowknife or Fort Simpson or Inuvik. These elders, when they want to go to these long-term care facilities, have to pay their way to these facilities, which is not fair. So we’re looking for some of these types of services in the Sahtu.

When we talk about equality in the Sahtu or in the Northwest Territories, in the reality of it we’re not getting the same type of services in some of the larger centres. This makes me wonder when this government will start owning up to the equality of all residents in the Northwest Territories, because when we see other regions or other communities get more services than us, we have to wonder where the equality is, where are the fairness and justice of this government is.

I’ll be asking further questions to the Premier in terms of the goals that we aspire to undertake in the 16th Assembly.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise again today to continue to raise the issue of lack of

legislative guidance to regulate the usage of cell phones while people are operating vehicles. What continues to be clear is, first, this problem is not a fad. Secondly, other responsible governments across this country continue to mount active campaigns through legislation to address this problem.

I’ve been asked by many, how long does personal lifestyle continue to trump the real concerns of public safety? We must patiently await the Minister of Transportation to answer that question, the question and call for action.

Sadly, over this past summer more people have joined the list of those who have lost their lives to distracted driving. Countless others, including myself, have witnessed near misses and amazing feats, as I have personally watched people pay more attention to their handhelds than to the road. Whether driving around a corner and almost hitting someone or running through a red light, what is clear is that one day their luck will either run out on themselves, the driver, or certainly the innocent victim or victims.

No law will ever completely solve the lack of or, rather, instil common sense. But what a law would do is mandate a legal responsibility where personal responsibility continues to be a matter only for a few.

I have never been an advocate for needless or even extra laws to impinge on the everyday liberties of good democratic citizens in a normal republic, but there comes a time that if common sense won’t prevail, government does have a role. To date, as I understand it, our government has been musing with this concept of finally dealing with this issue of distracted driving through a law. However, I’d rather describe it as saying our government has been flirting with their responsibility and still yet refuses to commit. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker It is a pleasure to be back amongst my colleagues here in the House and I’m looking forward to working with all of you towards a productive fall session.

Mr. Speaker, last evening I hosted a Kam Lake constituency meeting at N.J. Macpherson School, and I’d like to thank all those that attended and shared their thoughts and concerns with me. Mr. Speaker, it is my job and responsibility as an MLA to listen to my constituents and to the public and then raise those concerns here in this House.

Mr. Speaker, I can’t possibly do justice to all the issues that were brought up last night in the two

and a half minutes that I have here in my Member’s statement. I did make commitments last night to raise these issues that were brought to me and I plan on following up with all of those issues over the next three weeks.

The one area that I will pick up on today, and which dominated much of the discussion last evening, is health care, the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits and the performance of our Health and Social Services Minister. The proposed changes to supplementary health benefits are obviously of great interest and concern for many people. People want to know what recommendations the joint working group have come up with and when the public will be given an opportunity for comment. For something as important and which affects so many people, it’s understandable that the public wants to know. I want to again state that the decisions and directions the government will pursue on changes to supplementary health benefits will, unfortunately, not require a formal vote or endorsement by the majority of Members of this House. This is not what people want, nor conducive to good public government.

I made the recommendation when we last met earlier this spring that if the Health and Social Services Minister wholeheartedly believes in the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits, then why wouldn’t she and the government put the issue on the shelf for 11 more months. Mr. Speaker, the dissolution of this Assembly will take place September 2, 2011, 322 days from now. We need to make certain that we get these changes right. This should and rightfully belongs in an election campaign. It is an election issue, Mr. Speaker, and it should take place next fall.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

I shouldn’t have to preach politics to other politicians, but, understandably, the Minister should go door to door in her riding, attending election forums and answer to the public and her constituents on why she continues to support changes to supplementary health benefits. Mr. Speaker, this will also give other candidates in ridings across the Territory an opportunity to state their position on proposed changes to supplementary health benefits. Then let the electorate decide who the candidates they’re willing to support will be.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be pursing this issue with great vigour over the next three weeks.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of

visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have had a chance to take a peek at the visitors in our gallery today and I would informally call it seniors day from our mass attendance of our fine seniors. But notably, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to make special recognition of several constituents of Yellowknife Centre. That would be Vivian Squires, Ed Jeske, Blake Lyons, Ruth Spence, and David Wind. Thank you for coming today and thank you to everyone else.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You’ve recognized Mr. Sam Gargan as previous MLA, and I would like to recognize him as well, our grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations. Welcome to the Assembly, Sam.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize, with great pride, my mother, Barb Bromley, a resident of Weledeh; as well, Mr. David Gilday, also a resident of Weledeh; and many of the long-term residents and friends from Yellowknife in the gallery. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Michael McLeod

Michael McLeod Deh Cho

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A visitor here today has been recognized as the Speaker, former MLA and grand chief. I also want to recognize Sam Gargan as a constituent from my riding. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

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

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure, also, to recognize the many seniors that we have on hand today and particularly a pair of seniors who happen to be constituents, the Eggenbergers, who are sitting up here. They are seated with some long-time ex-Yellowknifers. I don’t know if they were here a long time or they’ve been gone a long time. Anyway, I’m very happy to recognize the Bendiksons, who have returned for a visit. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you. I’d also like to recognize our former colleague and former Speaker and now grand chief for the Dehcho. It’s good to see that there is life after serving in the

territorial Assembly, and Mr. Antoine from Nahendeh and Mr. Gargan adhere to the principle of recycle, reuse.

---Laughter

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to welcome everybody. In particular, I’d like to recognize Mr. Ed Jeske, who taught me how to drive when I was 16, and Vivian Squires, who used to be my constituency assistant. In case nobody else recognizes them, I would also like to recognize Mr. Dave Wind and Mr. Blake Lyons. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Ms. Lee. If we’ve missed anyone in the gallery today, welcome to the Chamber. It’s always nice to have an audience in here.

Item 7, acknowledgements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a well-respected elder, Charlie Tobac from Fort Good Hope, passed away on July 10, 2010. Charlie was known as a strong believer in the Dene culture and healing traditions, as well as a strong voice for the Dene people on issues such as the proposed Mackenzie Valley Natural Gas Pipeline and, more importantly, learning the traditional values of Dene. On behalf of the Sahtu region constituents, we send our thoughts and our prayers to the Tobac family. Mahsi cho.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 8, oral questions.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about this one small line in this recruitment ad that has caused such a stir in Hay River. I really can’t overstate that, Mr. Speaker. I know it may not seem like a big thing, because one extra executive or CEO in Yellowknife may not be a big thing, but in Hay River, in a small community, this is a large thing. As our government, we say that we’re committed to vibrant, sustainable communities, and there’s good air service between Hay River and Yellowknife, there are certainly good communication systems in place and, like I said,

this one small line here. It said that as a result, the selected individual may reside in either Yellowknife or Hay River.

I would like to ask the Premier today if he could tell us why, and tell the people of Hay River, I guess, why it was necessary to offer the alternative of living in Hay River or Yellowknife to this person. I’m wondering perhaps if they thought they couldn’t recruit somebody if it was to live in Hay River, because I think we could certainly prove that not to be the case, but I’d like to know what the rationale was for that option. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.