Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, am going to stand and vote in favour of this motion. As stated by my colleagues, it's quite straightforward. This is asking for an updating of an act which is very much out of date. It's asking for changes that will allow us to provide better services to our residents. It will allow us as residents to feel a bit more involved to allow us to do sort of the social service aspect of our lives, if we wish to do it, which we certainly can't do now.

The whereases in the motion talk about specific areas in the current act which are out of date and which need to be changed. Organ donation and tissue donation has become something which is far more common now than it was certainly in 1980, whatever, when this act was originally developed. I recognize that this is not on the government's legislative agenda at this point, but I think what Members are trying to say is it should be, and I think that our Department of Health needs to take this motion, should it pass, and they need to consider the recommendation in this motion seriously, look at their legislative agenda, and perhaps revise it and bring the idea of this motion into their agenda and move it up.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise with great pleasure on this particular issue. As Member Dolynny has pointed out, a few years ago I raised this issue as well. But you know what? I only sit on the shoulders of others to help try to carry the issue forward. With that, I'm going to thank Mr. Dolynny for hoping this time that we nudge it across the goal line. He's taken on this issue with some new emotion and new fervency in the sense of zeal that I hope it carries it across that line.

I am not sure what seems to be the issue with government realizing on how important something like this motion can be. I mean, quite frankly, this not only changes lives, it saves lives. There isn't really anything more precious out there than life itself, and you question yourself by asking why does the government continue to either ignore or disregard the plea or call for something like this. We've had other pleas about trying to extend drivers' licences to allow that information to be put on so if somebody does show up in an accident and we don't know them, we can access this type of information and find out one of the choices of life of this person was to help continue the life of others. But we don't have that ability. This is just one more piece in this puzzle.

It is a paralyzing issue for many people. I've talked to folks before, and folks are nervous. Yes, it may not be for everyone, but I can tell you, if you hear somebody waiting for a transplant, I mean, every day... I can tell you this for a fact, because a close friend of mine lost a child, and many people know who that is, and it's not the only time we know these terrible things have happened, but they went through terrible emotions every day, thinking the only way their child was going to survive was another child had to die. It was horrible. And the likelihood of somebody coming forward in that circumstance, the same age and the same sort of compatibility was very slim. It was such an emotional drain for that family. It was horrible to watch them go through.

All of a sudden now we have barriers that we can take down. This is a barrier that says it doesn't mean there's going to be a flood of donations. No, it won't. But what it means is people will have access to a process to allow this to happen. Because if somebody's last wish of their life is to help sustain someone else's life, allow them to return to a normal life, I mean, why would we be denying this?

I can remember those tragic weeks and months with great pain myself, and it wasn't easy. All I can remember is the father telling me that statement I said earlier. It's such a horrible paradox to be carrying that. The only way that their child will live is another child had to die. That is so awful to think, and that's not a good thing to be sitting there. Yet, as I said earlier, and I will continue to say, we have barriers here that stop us from helping those who want to do this, and we're taking their choice away. I'd say let's find a way to help them with their choice that they want to give. It's a choice that they make deep inside. It's a choice that some, maybe their families don't support, or their families do support, but we must make the choice available for people and that's why this motion is so critical.

I want to finish by once again thanking Member Dolynny and certainly Member Yakeleya for being the stewards of this latest push. I just hope this push isn't seen as fruitless, because it's very important. To the government, it's paperwork, it's policy, it's oh, we have to make some time, but I can guarantee we'd get thank you letters every day from the one family we saved. We'd hear endless thanks from them because we did take the time to recognize how important this is.

As said, I think already by Mr. Dolynny, we can't appreciate how important this is until you've run into it in your own circle of life, whether it's happened to you and your individual family or it has happened to a friend or even just someone you know. With that, I will certainly be supporting this with significant pride. I'm very thankful it is being brought forward today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will be voting in favour of this motion. Many things have changed over the years as the territory is changing. I know it is not traditional for many people to donate their organs, but like I mentioned, many things have changed and there are a lot of people that are here in the Northwest Territories who want to help their family or friends by donating an organ. I think that that should be made available in this territory in this day and age, 2013. We need to come up to speed like many of the provinces in Canada. For that reason I am supporting this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. To the motion. Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services supports organ and tissue donation. The best way for people to ensure their wish to be an organ donor is to let family members and loved ones know and ask for their support, should they be in a position to donate when they are unable to speak for themselves.

The NWT is in partnership with Alberta Health Services. They provide transplant services for our residents. They are currently looking for better ways, better options to identifying potential donors, including the possibility of a registry that will include our residents in any initiatives they develop.

The department will look at ways that the NWT residents can identify their wish to donate their organs through health care cards. The department will work with Canadian Blood Services and Alberta Health Services to develop our own common materials from organ and tissue donation in the NWT. The partner will discuss with Canadian Blood Services strategies for them to be more visible in the NWT and further encourage NWT residents to become donors of blood, organs and tissue. Implementing organ and tissue harvesting in the NWT would be costly due to specialized resources needed for laboratory organ storage and staffing.

Family's right to refuse to donate requires an amendment to the Human Tissue Act, NWT. Specialized surgical teams, equipment and advanced life support essential to organ harvesting are not available in the NWT. Logistical barriers such as geography, transit times and lab limitations also prevent NWT from organ harvesting. Although organ and tissue harvesting is not available in the NWT, the Stanton Health Authority has partnered with the Human Organ Procedure Exchange Program based in Alberta which funds all air and ground travel costs for potential NWT donors to travel to Alberta.

In the case where a patient on life support at the Stanton Territorial Hospital is identified as a potential donor and where the donor can be transported to Edmonton in the condition where the organs will remain suitable for transplant, Stanton Territorial Health Authority can contact HOPE to medevac a donor to Edmonton and have their organs harvested. The dialysis unit at the Stanton Territorial Hospital provides dialysis patients who are on the transplant list with a pager so they can be located at any time, should a kidney become available.

The Human Tissue Act in the NWT, which came into force in 1988, provides the basic legislative framework for consent for organ and tissue donation. A brief scan of the legislation in other provinces shows some of the acts also include provisions respecting the requirement for two physicians to declare death, criteria for brain death, prohibition on declaring the doctor to be involved in the transplant - that is the same doctor that is declaring death - the prohibition on buying and selling or dealing with human tissue, and confidentiality.

Historical figures in the NWT where the recipients obtained through HOPE: in 2008-09, three kidney recipients and one liver recipient; in 2009-10, one heart recipient and two kidney recipients; in 2010-11, four liver recipients; in 2011-12, five liver recipients, islet cell recipient, one; liver, partial donation from living donor. At present there are seven NWT residents on the waiting list to receive organs: one heart, one double lung and five liver.

This motion is a direction to the GNWT, to government, so we will be abstaining from the vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. I will allow the mover of the motion to have final remarks. To the motion, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the seconder of the motion. I forgot to do that earlier. I do thank him for coming forward and letting the debate happen today, Mr. Yakeleya.

I am honoured. I heard a lot of positive comments from my colleagues from different perspectives and looking at it from many different angles. I do appreciate all of the support. They see the vision. They understand. You can't put a price on human life.

We heard from the Minister of Health and Social Services that he had a brief scan of the Human Tissue Act. I have done a full review of this act. This group of my colleagues know very well I am very thorough in my design. This act is deficient and is defiant of what is considered best practice and standards across Canada. It doesn't hold up to what we consider on a worldwide basis in the Human Tissue Act or the harvesting of organs. This act is greatly deficient.

The pass of a vote that we are hearing from across the hall here is not soothing words for the people of the Northwest Territories. We need to hear an active role. This motion speaks to an active role that this government can pursue and do for the people of the Northwest Territories, nothing more. It is not about dollars. You can do what you like with the barriers to life, and I think Members on this side of the House are trying to remove those barriers so we are giving life a fair chance in the Northwest Territories. I am hoping our colleagues across the room are thinking in the same capacity.

With that, I would like to thank everyone who spoke again towards the motion. I will be asking for a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member is asking for a recorded vote. All those in favour, please rise.

All those against, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. All those in favour, eight; all those opposed, zero; all those abstaining, seven. The motion is carried.

---Carried

---Applause

Mr. Hawkins or, sorry, Mr. Yakeleya.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on June 6, 2013, it shall be adjourned until Thursday, October 17, 2013;

AND FURTHER, that any time prior to October 17, 2013, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. By the authority given to me by Motion 1-17(4), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily sitting hour of adjournment to consider business before the House.

Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you. This motion is not about devolution itself, it's about what to do with the resource revenue after the Devolution Agreement has been signed and resources finally start flowing to the Northwest Territories.

If we don't start providing some guiding principles, whether we call them pillars, whether we call them ideas, if we don't start providing these, in typical and usual fashion, our Cabinet will find new ways and define it as invest the money under the guide of government priorities all built under their own guidance. This motion helps Members guide where this revenue is going. On top of that, it speaks to public engagement.

This motion wouldn't be here today without the good support of my colleague Mr. Nadli, and I want to give thanks to that for helping get this motion on the floor.

This also speaks to different types of investments, but it's a structure of how and what we should do with the public money for the public with their guidance. So, Mr. Speaker, this might not be the be-all and end-all final formula of how this resource money should go. Maybe after good public consultation, a little public input if the government is willing to put a little grease on the wheel and go back to the public and ask them what do they think their money should be doing and how do they think their money should be invested back into our people, maybe the formula might be slightly different. It's not up to me to say.

The important thing here today is to create a mechanism so people have a chance to give some ideas and show people where their money is going when it's a resource revenue and how we can help direct it for useful purposes.

As a reminder, in case I forget later, I will want a recorded vote on this particular issue.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion. Mr. Nadli, seconder of the motion.

I'd like to thank my colleague Mr. Hawkins for initiating this motion. I understand that down the road the government will be receiving a portion of the $70 million or so. Initial thoughts were that it should be invested perhaps in infrastructure, Heritage Fund or debt repayment. The question should be: Should we invest more in the public sector or less in the private sector? This is an opportunity for the public to have a say in terms of how resource revenues should be decided. Therefore, I support the principle of this motion. Mahsi.