Absolutely nothing, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are quite a few people in the gallery that I would like to recognize, with the House’s indulgence. We have the Wise Women Award recipient Ann Kasook and her husband, who sings beautifully. Her husband’s name is Charlie. I didn’t want to be wrong. Allison Dejong for the Sahtu; she has her mother with her in her honour. Sylvia Nadli from Deh Cho; Alizette Lockhart from South Slave; Lena Pedersen for North Slave/Tlicho. We also have the president of the Status of Women Council, Dolly Simon, and executive director of the Status of Women Council of the NWT, Lorraine Phaneuf. I see that there are lots of friends joining the wise women recipients today and I want to recognize them as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One hundred years ago women were chattels with no privileges or rights as those enjoyed by men, yet women felt the full brunt of the punishment of law. One hundred years ago women did not have the right to vote, as women were not considered responsible enough to have a say in how Canada was governed. One hundred years ago women were not considered persons under the law.

Today marks the 100

th

anniversary of International

Women’s Day, Mr. Speaker. March 8

th

is a global

day of celebrations connecting all women around

the world to honour women’s advancement, while reminding all of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women’s equality is maintained in every aspect of society. We have come far, Mr. Speaker, but we still have work to do.

Since 1992, the Status of Women Council has sponsored the annual Wise Women Awards in acknowledgement that individual greatness is not found only in high-profile achievements, but is also found in the leadership, wisdom and service that individuals selflessly provide others throughout their lives.

This prestigious award honours women who have shaped the hearts, minds and futures of others and serve as role models in their communities. It recognizes the advocacy work, support and education to improve the status of women in the Northwest Territories, and to encourage women to continue their great works. It reminds us that communities are not simply about the abundance of physical infrastructure, but also the social support networks we form and how we are connected to each other.

It is my great pleasure to recognize in this House the recipients of the Wise Women awards for 2011. They are:

•

Ann Kasook for the Beaufort-Delta –

nominated for her work with the Inuvik Transition House Society and her dedication to women and children who have experienced family violence and to families who require counselling services;

•

Allison Dejong for the Sahtu – A teacher from Tulita, Allison was nominated in recognition for the care she provides to the sick and the fundraising efforts she undertook for a ladies team to travel from Tulita to Yellowknife for a tournament;

•

Sylvia Nadli for the Deh Cho – nominated for her creative ability to make beautiful things from simple beginnings and her willingness to teach others traditional skills such as moosehide tanning;

•

Alizette Lockhart for the South Slave –

nominated for her work as a community health representative in pre and post-natal and her work with new mothers and fathers. Alizette’s traditional skills are strong. She is a very good listener and is considered a major stabilizer in Lutselk’e;

•

Lena Pedersen for the North Slave/Tlicho – nominated for her years of work with helping people, Lena worked hard to established the medical boarding facility; so hard, in fact, the facility is named after her. Lena is also the first woman ever elected to the Legislative Assembly of the NWT, called the Territorial

Council at the time. She remains very active with the Centre for Northern Families and the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, these outstanding women were celebrated at the Bread and Roses Luncheon earlier today during the Status of Women conference -- Celebrating Northern Women – 100 Years of Achievement -- marking the 100

th

anniversary of International Women’s Day, with roses and an “Originals by T-Bo” designed pendant.

Mr. Speaker, these women prove the truth contained in the title of our strategic plan, Northerners Working Together, that we are at our best and our most successful when we work together in the interests of the whole Northwest Territories.

I invite the Assembly to join me in congratulating these recipients and extending our appreciation for their lifetime’s work on behalf of northern families and northern communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. I need to remind the Member also not to compare this profession as medical doctors, just because we have existing legislation that protects that word “doctor” just for those who are practicing medicine. So let me just say this profession is allowed to be practiced here. The practitioners are allowed to do their work and there’s nothing that we’re doing or not doing right now that prohibits them from doing their work. Like my colleague Minister Miltenberger just said to me, it’s like a float plane and we want the float plane to take off and if you load way too many things on there, it will never get off the ground. We want to start with this floor so that we make something happen.

There’s nothing that we are doing or not doing that is stopping this profession from practicing. There is nothing that stops them from practicing. They are allowed to practice. They’re like physiotherapists, occupational therapists, massage therapists, acupuncturists, Chinese, Asian doctors or whatever. They can practice. I don’t mean Asian doctors, I mean Chinese medicine. So, Mr. Speaker, they are allowed to practice. We see the role of their profession and we’re just telling them it’s going to take time to bring them all on board, but in the meantime, Mr. Speaker, they’re absolutely welcome to practice here.

Once again I need to state, the naturopathic practitioners are allowed to practice their fields as they are now. So there’s nothing that needs to be done to have them practice. They are allowed to practice that now. I have stated earlier that we are reviewing this. I want to say again that I just don’t want to load so many things onto this umbrella legislation that it doesn’t make it off the ground. It is really important that we regulate chiropractors, psychologists, licensed nurse practitioners, as well as emergency responders. Those professions have been at the front of the line and they have the level of complexity and the meeting there that we need to work through, and we believe that once we work through the other professions that come on board, they could be added more quickly and more readily because we would have had the frameworks done. So, Mr. Speaker, I just want to state again that we are considering other professions that could be added.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I absolutely see the role of naturopathic practitioners and they are allowed to practice as they are now under the licensure they have with other jurisdictions. There’s nothing absolutely stopping them from practicing their field. I want to tell the Member that I’ve no problem seeing them practicing here.

The issue here right now -- they don’t need to be regulated to practice -- is that they want to be called a doctor. Because there might be some confusion in that the people might feel that they’re medical doctors, that’s the only thing they’re not allowed to do. They are totally allowed and they are encouraged to practice.

The Member’s line of questioning in itself is questioning the competence and the quality of the people that are practicing. I want to say that those that are licensed to practice as a therapist and naturopathic practitioners and even acupuncturists, all those professions are allowed to practice in the Northwest Territories. They just cannot call themselves a doctor. That might give an idea to the public that they are practicing medical doctor medical practices. That’s clearly defined in our legislation.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say once again what I said to MLA Abernethy, which is that we are working on the umbrella Health and Social Services Professions Act. We’re going to modernize the legislation, and this is long overdue, and we are giving due consideration to other professions who could be included. There’s no lack of will or resistance whatsoever. Thank you.

There is no resistance or lack of willingness or any of those negative connotations, Mr. Speaker. The department has a number of legislations in their workload, and as the Member is well aware, we have a little bit of a traffic jam with legislative process. We, as a government, have a whole list of legislation, I would say upwards of at least 50 that have been in the works for many, many years. We are all in the same traffic highway on legislation.

We recognize the importance of regulating some of these professions and the ones that we have most urgent need is the licensed practical nurses, chiropractors, psychologists and emergency medical responders. Those are identified as being a priority and we believe that once those are set, it would make it easier for other professions like the massage therapists and naturopathic practitioners, which have come onboard later than these other guys, to get one. Thank you.