This is page numbers 4253 – 4284 of the Hansard for the 17th 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 land.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion. I’ll allow the seconder to the motion, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the honourable Member for bringing this motion forward. I was very pleased to second it because I believe this motion is giving the communities and the people in the Northwest Territories a greater chance of saving lives. No guarantees, if the big guy wants you up there he’ll take you no matter what, but this gives us a fighting chance. It’s a possibility for our community members, as Ms. Bisaro has indicated, giving our communities a fighting chance if we had these defibrillators situated in parts of our communities. I know this was an issue a couple of years ago when I talked about this and we had them in hockey rec centres and sporting centres and I do see them there. It would be good training now for people to start recognizing them if they walk into a hotel, if there’s a sign there that says or indicates that there’s a defibrillator there, then people will know, at least consciously. They might not use it, but at least they know if something happens.

Even in our small communities, there’s a lot of people in our small communities go out in great numbers as their own community to bush camps. Why can’t they have a defibrillator when they go to these bush camps and stay for a week or two weeks on the spring hunt? There are actually

families out there, 20 or 30 people in these bush camps in the springtime. It would be nice to have a defibrillator out there. We have progressed; however, we still go back to the old training of our manual, but it’s good to have the defibrillators also with us there.

Ms. Bisaro talked about partnership. This government is all about partnership, so I’d like to continue that discussion and work with the different partnerships that can help us. Again, when coming to the communities, it should be like in our phone book and people know where the defibrillators are located, just like the RCMP or there’s a nurse or there’s the mail. Those types of things are important for our visitors to know that there are designated sites. Start looking at this, as it needs to be put into our operations in the Northwest Territories.

Training is also very important. Of course, the government would have to consider, if we do this, what’s the liability of putting this program into action. I say, what’s the liability of not having it? We would have a greater chance of saving lives in our communities, even at the airport. I don’t know if we even have a defibrillator at the airports in the Northwest Territories. We need to do an assessment, look at things, see where they’re going, and let’s give our communities a greater chance of saving a life if we had some of these defibrillators in our communities.

Once again, I say in closing that, really, if the big guy upstairs wants you, he’ll take you no matter what you do. However, he’s also made it known that if there are things that could save a life, then we should also be using that type of smarts in our operations as a government. I support this motion 100 percent. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion. I will allow Mr. McLeod to speak.

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a very important topic across the Northwest Territories. We have heard that in many of our public places they would like to have automatic external defibrillators, AEDs, in their facilities.

Working with the communities, there is an opportunity there for the communities to use the funding that we provide to purchase the defibrillators and then, as we debated in the budget in the House just recently, we had some extra money in there for emergency training and ground ambulance training. That pot of money could also be used for training on the use of defibrillators. We feel that is very important. I think communities are starting to recognize the importance of having these.

As far as I know, all the health centres across the Northwest Territories do have them in the health

centres. We have to expand that. We have to expand that to the communities.

We have a meeting coming up with the NWT Association of Communities up in Inuvik. I’m sure this is an issue that will be discussed, because I think we are starting to see more and more the benefits of having devices such as these in a lot of our public places, in community halls especially where there are always large gatherings. There are opportunities there to improve on this.

Again, I say that because of the fact that we give the money to communities and they determine how they want to use it, there will be an opportunity there for them to purchase these. We have to ensure that the training goes along with it. We have to also do some research with our other jurisdictions to see if there is any type of liability, how we, as a government, can legislate or regulate liabilities. So we’ll do the work. We will work with the communities again.

I think this is an important motion. I think it’s important to people across the Northwest Territories. As this is a recommendation, Cabinet will be abstaining from the vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. I will allow closing remarks and then close debate on this motion. Ms. Bisaro.

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Mr. Yakeleya for his remarks and thank the Minister, as well, for sounding very positive. I really look forward to working with the Minister to get this done.

One of the things that are available is funding from the federal government for communities to apply to get funding for defibrillators. I just want to put that out there. Lastly, I would like to ask for a recorded vote. Thank you.

Recorded Vote
Motions

March 6th, 2014

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member has asked for a recorded vote. All those in favour, please rise.

Clerk Of The House (Ms. Langlois)

Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Moses, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Yakeleya, Mr. Blake, Mrs. Groenewegen, Mr. Dolynny, Mr. Bouchard, Mr. Nadli, Mr. Hawkins.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.

Clerk Of The House (Ms. Langlois)

Mr. Beaulieu, Mr. Abernethy, Mr. Miltenberger, Mr. McLeod – Yellowknife South, Mr. Lafferty, Mr. Ramsey, Mr. McLeod – Inuvik Twin Lakes.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you. In favour, 10; opposed, zero; seven abstentions. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Item 18, first reading of bills. Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 19, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 2014-2015, be read for the first time. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Bill 19 has had first reading.

---Carried

Item 19, second reading of bills. Mr. Miltenberger.

Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 19, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 2014-2015, be read for the second time.

This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for operations expenditures for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.

An Hon. Member

Question.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Question has been called. Bill 19 has had second reading and is deemed ready for third reading.

---Carried

Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, be read for the second time.

Bill 18 amends the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act to revise electoral districts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.

An Hon. Member

Question

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Question has been called. Bill 18 has had second reading.

---Carried

Mr. Blake.

Frederick Blake Jr.

Frederick Blake Jr. Mackenzie Delta

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 69(2) and have Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, moved into Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Unanimous consent granted

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Bill 18 is moved into Committee of the Whole. Thank you.

Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, with Mrs. Groenewegen in the chair.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

I will call Committee of the Whole to order. There are a number of matters before us. What is the wish of committee? Ms. Bisaro.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Madam Chair. Committee would like to consider Bill 1, Bill 2 and Bill 3.