David Ramsay

Sorry, Mr. Chairman. I was just wondering, I had a question on page 17, I was wondering if we could go back, seek your indulgence to go back to 17 for a quick question.

I’m wondering if we can get a commitment from the Premier today to in fact inject some new life into the effort to deal with these jobs that are located in Ottawa and Gatineau and southern Canada, and working with our colleagues in Yukon and Nunavut, to make sure that we have a united front to the federal government to again ask them. I know we’ve asked them in the past, but if they’re looking at locating a Northern Development Agency in the Northwest Territories or in one of the other two northern territories, there’s talk of Arctic sovereignty, there’s talk of renewed effort on behalf of the...

I’d like to ask the Premier if the federal government has come any closer to announcing a location for the Northern Development Agency. I know it’s at the Prime Minister’s desk now, but when are we expecting a decision on where that office will be located?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Mr. Byrne Richards, a constituent, who is with us in the gallery today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak today about the proposed Northern Development Agency and whether or not our government is making any progress in discussions with the federal government on bringing this agency’s headquarters to the Northwest Territories. I also would like to know what the federal government’s intentions are when it comes to the future of northern development.

This new agency supposedly would consolidate existing northern development activities into one which, Mr. Speaker, I am fully supportive of. The announcement was made late last year and we still do not know...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a quick question on the renovation to the Yellowknife licence issuing office. Personally I have had good experience going to the road licensing officer here in Yellowknife, downtown Yellowknife, but I have heard from other people who experience long waits and they are there for hours and there never seems to be -- even though there are three cubicles in that office -- three people working there, and oftentimes one cubicle is closed. I am just wondering, with the renovations, are we going to see an increased level of service to the public with those renovations...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to this Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and infrastructure has completed its review of Bill 6, Species at Risk (NWT) Act, and Bill 14, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act.

The committee wishes to report that Bill 14 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole and also Bill 6 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Justice.

Would the Minister provide historic data on number of inmates on remand at North Slave Correctional Centre by month for the past five years, with the length of stay for each of those inmates on remand?

Why is there no day-to-day mental health services at North Slave Correctional Centre?

What happened to the other clinical psychologists that were employed at North Slave Correctional Centre?

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have been here for five years. I know we do a lot of work each and every day on prevention. I know that work happens. What I am suggesting is that I don’t think things are getting much better. What I would suggest to the Minister and the government is we need to take more of a policy look at what we are doing. And I agree with something that the Minister said: it starts early. I think we have done a disservice to our youth by allowing curriculum to be taken out where it pertains to physical activity. Children today in the classroom or in a school in the Northwest Territories don...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It gets back to my Member’s statement where I was talking about some research that has been conducted. It appeared in the Canadian Journal of Public Health in regards to chronic diseases and indicators that would suggest that the trend in northern Canada is not a good one, Mr. Speaker. We need to be doing more in the area of prevention. It is not too late to look at prevention. I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if her department is aware of the research that has been...