Brendan Bell

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, this is certainly a priority for our department. We have had and been proposing to do some work and had budgeted amounts of money for a number of years. We are now at the point where we have a working committee to move forward. We have nominees as put forward by the region. We are going to work with them to ensure that there is a viable plan for enhancing the project. I expect there will also be a bit of a tour this summer. If the Member is interested in participating with the Premier and others, I believe, as well as Members of the committee, I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the information from the Member and his support and advocacy for having us look at new and innovative ways to ensure community safety. This is something that we’ve been pursuing for quite some time. We have looked at other jurisdictions, looked at similar models. There are about four Canadian provinces, three Canadian provinces and one territory right now, with similar legislation and we have been in discussion with these provinces and territories to understand how effective this legislation and the enforcement of it has been. So we are analyzing...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, June 5, 2006, I will move that Bill 8, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2006, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Supplementary Retiring Allowances Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been discussing this with my colleague, the Minister of Health. We do have a Social Envelope Ministers Committee that discusses these issues frequently. I have talked about this and we have seen over the years here, especially recently, that it has been difficult in his community of Wrigley to get a permanent nurse in the community. One of the concerns was about the lack of a permanent policing presence. We are trying to work on that. We recognize there are linkages here. We can’t afford to be a stovepipe. So we are collaborating. I am trying to coordinate our...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, June 5, 2006, I will move that Bill 8, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2006, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly find out. The Member is right that I have said the department’s foremost priority is to get additional resources on the ground in our smaller communities. Members know there are 13 communities that currently don’t have a permanent police presence. Of course, they are served out of the larger centres and I think we do a very good job with the resources we have, but I have made the case to the federal government that we have pressing needs. There are pressures coming from development. We need a strategy, we need more resources and we will continue to do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been discussing this with my colleague, the Minister of Health. We do have a Social Envelope Ministers Committee that discusses these issues frequently. I have talked about this and we have seen over the years here, especially recently, that it has been difficult in his community of Wrigley to get a permanent nurse in the community. One of the concerns was about the lack of a permanent policing presence. We are trying to work on that. We recognize there are linkages here. We can’t afford to be a stovepipe. So we are collaborating. I am trying to coordinate our...

Mr. Speaker, I think I have a very close working relationship with the Governance and Economic Development committee. We meet quite frequently to discuss issues formally and informally. I am more than wiling to do that with Members as it relates to constituents who have specific concerns. Yes, I do rely on the advocacy of Members to bring those issues forward. In terms of communication on major initiatives, that is my job to come forward to committee and present them with those things. Of course, we had that discussion when we decided to move away from the National Diamond Strategy. I did...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly find out. The Member is right that I have said the department’s foremost priority is to get additional resources on the ground in our smaller communities. Members know there are 13 communities that currently don’t have a permanent police presence. Of course, they are served out of the larger centres and I think we do a very good job with the resources we have, but I have made the case to the federal government that we have pressing needs. There are pressures coming from development. We need a strategy, we need more resources and we will continue to do...