David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I think that the Minister is missing my point. I think the ultimate test is for the Minister to delay the implementation of this until the next government is elected -- and that is only 16 months away -- and let her go door to door in this city and campaign on this policy and let’s see if she gets re-elected, Mr. Speaker. I don’t think she will get re-elected. I would like to ask her if she thinks she’d get re-elected if she went door to door in her riding with this policy. Thank you.

I think, as I mentioned during my Member’s statement, it’s a foolish direction that the government is embarking upon. If you have a rally of 200 people in front of the Legislative Assembly, that’s got to send a message to the Minister and to the government that the direction that they’re taking is wrong and they should revisit that direction. If the government, like the Minister said, actually cared about those people that are outside of this protection right now and today, this government’s been in office for over three years, Mr. Speaker. What have they done about it? Why haven’t you found...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve got a few people I’d like to recognize. I’ve got constituents Estrelle and Ford Sumcad in the gallery today. As well, I’d like to recognize Chief Eddie Sangris from the Yellowknives Dene. As well, city councillor Lydia Bardak and city councillor David Wind. As well, I see my former boss and former constituent Mr. Larry Adamson I’d like to recognize as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the brief emergency session in March I had the opportunity to make a statement on the proposed changes to the supplementary health benefits. Like many of my colleagues, I am feeling completely frustrated and very uneasy about the direction that this government is taking with supplementary health benefits.

Why is it so easy for this government to state that they want a system that is fair and equitable when this is just not a reality? Why is this government so good at upsetting people? Again today we saw another protest in front of the Legislative Assembly...

Mr. Speaker, that is all fine and good, but the bottom line is this Northwest Territories, the land that we govern, is not the rest of Canada, Mr. Speaker. It is the Northwest Territories. We have unique needs. The cost of living here in the Northwest Territories, people cannot afford to live here. We are losing people because they can’t afford to live here and the government again is embarking on a decision to even increase costs more to our residents. It is the wrong decision, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again, I want to go back to an earlier question. I will ask the Minister again, will the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve got questions today for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It gets back to my Member’s statement talking about the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits.

Obviously everybody’s been giving this a lot of thought. We have to come up with a new solution. Mr. Speaker, if I could, I would just like to share a solution. We’re about 16 months away from the next territorial election in October of 2011. I’d like to ask the Minister if the government has given any consideration to taking this policy and the proposed direction that they want to...

It is Cabinet’s responsibility to manage these decisions, and given Cabinet’s track record of decision-making, it’s little wonder people outside in the public are so upset, again, at another decision this government is making. It’s the wrong decision. We need to park it. We need to find a new solution, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a government we’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars by the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and I thank him for the initiatives that the government’s started on trying to attract and retain people here in the Northwest Territories. The government knows how important it is to have people stay here in the Northwest Territories. Like I said earlier, it’s $22,000 per person.

I’d like to ask the Minister again, I didn’t really hear it, she said there are no losers. When there are winners there are losers. Can the Minister stand up in this House today...

The Minister knows full well, she’s the chair of the Strategic Initiatives Committee on the Cost of Living. She knows full well that it’s not a fair comparison to compare the cost of living here in the Northwest Territories to that of southern jurisdictions where, I might add, many people choose to retire in the South. Somebody has to protect the social fabric of our communities and keep families together and keep seniors in the North. I’d like to again ask the Minister how come a survey hasn’t been conducted with the seniors in the Northwest Territories to ask them if proposed changes to the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to join a number of my colleagues today in speaking about the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits. The Minister is very quick to say there will be winners in these proposed changes. There will be, Mr. Speaker, but when someone wins, someone else is bound to lose. If the department and the government want to truly live up to the statement that all families should have fair and equal access to Government of the Northwest Territories funded programs and assist with the cost of uninsured health services, then they are going to have to fully...