David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got some questions today for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I just wanted to get a better understanding of how it’s possible that the Government of the Northwest Territories sold 36,000 acres of land to the Norman Wells Land Corporation without Regular Members of the House being informed in any way, shape, or fashion. That’s the first question I’ve got for the Minister.

Mr. Speaker, that is what scares me. I am not sure why the Minister can’t stand up today and articulate what exactly the government is going to do to address the fact that spousal assault in the Northwest Territories has increased 107 percent under their watch. What are you going to do about that matter, Minister? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

One of the reasons I ask that question is because we have gone to a four-year degree program with our northern nursing students now and one of the concerns that I’ve heard is that there aren’t the jobs, the jobs aren’t posted. Even though we’ve got locums and we’re relying on agency nurses, the jobs aren’t being posted. They’re not out there. For new grads coming into the work scene, it’s a pretty scary sight when you’re graduating from a four-year Northern Nursing Program and there are no jobs to be had on paper. Then you see all these locum nurses and agency nurses working in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions today for the Minister of Health and Social Services, getting back to my Member’s statement. In 2005 the Legislative Assembly brought in the Protection Against Family Violence Act, an act the Minister is well aware of. Also, we have developed a Framework for Action Against Family Violence. That is going into the second stage of that. I would like to ask the Minister why the incidents of spousal assault have gone up 107 percent increase in the last four years, from 309 to 640. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Chairman, I look forward to more information on that. Again, I don’t know how we have come this far since the federal government devolved responsibility for health here in the Northwest Territories. We still don’t have that work all concluded. It is troublesome, I guess, to put it in a word.

I also wanted to, while I have a minute and 28 seconds left, comment on my colleague Mr. Yakeleya’s concern over the lack of a social worker in Tulita. I think that is appalling that there is not a social worker there and there hasn’t been one there for three and a half years. All the Minister can say...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak today about a very significant and disturbing issue here in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, family violence continues to plague our Territory. In 2010 there were 640 reported incidents of spousal assault. This is 20 percent higher than last year and, incredibly, 107 percent higher under this government’s watch than it was four years earlier, in 2006.

A parliamentary committee recently visited the Northwest Territories to discuss abuse against Aboriginal women. The root causes of abuse should come as no surprise to Members of this House: poverty...

Mr. Chairman, if I am to understand correctly, if we are still working on proper scope of practice for health professionals in the Northwest Territories and we don’t have those concluded or done to a certain extent, I am just wondering, doesn’t that open the Government of the Northwest Territories and the department up to liability. I am thinking malpractice. I am thinking something goes wrong and when you are dealing with health care, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. I would think that this is a huge risk for us not having this work done. I am just wondering if we have any time...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am handing out thank yous here, but I will thank the Minister for providing the Concession Agreement to committee some time ago. It was an embargoed copy, that Concession Agreement, that we could have a look at in the committee room. We couldn’t make copies of it and hand it out, but we at least got a copy of it. If the department would let us have a look at the contract so that we can have a lawyer have a look at it and make our own judgments on what eligible cost overruns and delays in this project will mean to the overall cost of this project. Thank you, Mr...

Mr. Speaker, last year, as well, given what happened with ATCON, I had asked some questions about Ruskin and the Minister had confirmed that Ruskin had a 50 percent performance bond in place for the remainder of the work. I’d like to ask the Minister who holds that 50 percent performance bond that Ruskin has. Thank you.

I want some assurances what cost overruns will fall on the taxpayer here in the NWT, and I also want to understand why Regular Members haven’t seen a copy of the contract between Ruskin and whoever it’s with -- the Government of the Northwest Territories or maybe the former Deh Cho Bridge Corporation -- how that works, what our liabilities are in that contract, what are eligible cost overruns. I’ll be asking the Minister for that later today.