David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, being a Member of the Legislature, I’m entitled to an opinion, and in my opinion the Minister has done nothing to address the deficits at our health authorities across the Northwest Territories and if we go by the numbers that have been provided, we’re looking at a $36 million system-wide deficit come this time next year. The question I had to the Minister was what are we going to do about it. I’d like to ask the Minister, the final question that I have, Mr. Speaker, is in the transition into the next government -- we’ve got six and a half months here -- is...

Mr. Speaker, the Minister, the factors that she talks about today are factors that have been around since the day I walked through these doors in 2003. I mentioned, in my Member’s statement, Minister Miltenberger back in 2003 saying the board would be re-established at Stanton. There’s no board there today. This is eight years later. Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s response she also didn’t mention whether or not the government is going to look at a new governance model for how we manage health care here in the Northwest Territories and the system-wide governance. Can the Minister answer that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to speak today about the management of health authorities in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, this issue is nothing new to anyone sitting here today. I and other Regular Members have been asking the government the entire time I’ve been here for a better way to fund and manage our health care system. Mr. Speaker, the government continues to take the easy way out when it comes to dealing with deficits at the authorities. They continually throw money at it through so-called one-time funding requests or through supplementary appropriation.

Mr. Speaker, let...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure has reviewed Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act. The committee wishes to report that Bill 15 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you.

I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure has reviewed Bill 18, An Act to Repeal the Settlements Act. The committee wishes to report that Bill 18 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you.

I wish to report to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too will be supporting the motion today and I‘d like to commend the Mine Training Society and all their partners for all their efforts over the years. I’d also like to thank Mr. Abernethy, the mover of the motion, and Minister Lafferty for seconding the motion that’s before us today. I’d be very pleased to support that.

The future of the Northwest Territories is going to be in the area of resource extraction, transportation infrastructure, and construction. We need to ensure that a program can replace this very successful program. We need to encourage the federal...

Mr. Speaker, the Minister is right; it might not be a silver bullet, but we have 42,000 people here in this Territory and we really have to ask ourselves whether we need eight authorities in the Northwest Territories to deliver health services to 42,000. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the Minister, now she tends to downplay the issue with the deficits. Mr. Speaker, the information I have has an accumulated deficit, and she wants to call it system-wide. It’s system-wide of close to $19 million come March 31st of this year. Mr. Speaker, going to March 31st of 2012, that system-wide deficit is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the years I’ve been here I’ve witnessed this government, through one-time funding and supplementary appropriation, handing over $38 million to deal with the deficits at the health authorities around the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker. Again, I think that’s a very disturbing way to manage our health care system here in the Northwest Territories. I’d like to begin by asking the Minister of Health and Social Services what is the plan going forward to try to mitigate the deficits at our health authorities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the timing is pretty good. The Minister and his staff are going to be providing a briefing to Regular Members next week on the Deh Cho Bridge Project. I was wondering if the Minister could commit to have his department staff, when they come to the briefing next week, provide the committee with an overview of the contract itself, especially with an eye to eligible costs and where responsibility lies for eligible cost overruns on that project. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, didn’t the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation hand over control of the project prior to March of 2010? If so, why is the contract with Ruskin between the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and Ruskin and not the Government of the Northwest Territories and Ruskin? Thank you.