David Ramsay

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.

In keeping with the theme of jobs and federal jobs, I want to...We’ve talked about this before, about the fact that there are a number of jobs -- in the hundreds -- located in Gatineau and Ottawa, that belong in the three northern territories. There has been much work done in the past on identifying these jobs, finding out where they’re located, and we’ve asked the federal government in the past to relocate these positions north of 60. I’d like to ask the Premier today if his government, our government here in the Northwest Territories, will push this forward again and give it some renewed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for the Premier today and it gets back to my Member’s statement from earlier where I was talking about the Northern Development Agency that the federal government has proposed. I’m wondering if the Premier can give us an update on what exactly our government has done in trying to convince the federal government that the Northwest Territories is a good location for this Northern Development Agency.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Devolution may take many more years to negotiate. At a minimum, the federal government must be made to recognize that northern development positions belong in the North. I believe it is the job of this government to examine the positions that exist and present a case to the federal government. Let’s convince them that these jobs would mean more to us, more for our economy and more for the development of our Territory as a whole if they were in fact located in the North.

Mr. Speaker, devolution will come, but why can’t the jobs come first? Mahsi.

I thank the deputy minister for that and I do look forward to the renovations that are going to take place there and the work that’s ongoing. Just as an aside, I think if there is an issue out there -- and I’m not sure if other Members have heard the same issue -- maybe we do need to look at staffing levels at that office and make sure that we do have it staffed adequately to service the public. That’s a discussion we can have down the road in the fall during business plans. Thank you.

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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The numbers that I suggested are made in my Member’s statement. They don’t lie. The numbers are there. The thing I like about this research is that it is done over a five-year period. It is not just a snapshot; it is the whole nine yards, Mr. Speaker. Again, in terms of policy, what is the government going to do in terms of policy to get people more physically active in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

I am glad to hear that the Minister has been in contact with one of the researchers. Getting back again to my Member’s statement, the government spends millions and millions of dollars on prevention but the numbers just don’t seem to be corresponding to the investment that we are making there. How do the Minister and the department suggest that we get Northerners more physically active? What is the game plan going forward to try to get people who live in northern Canada more physically active? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak about the correlation between people making healthy choices today and future health care expenditures and the prevalence of chronic illness. Let me begin with a story that appeared on CTV yesterday evening. I would suggest that the Minister of Health and our government take this story and the findings of the research that was conducted very seriously.

The story was based on a research paper that appears in the latest edition of the Canadian Journal of Public Health. It was authored by Kathleen Doering and three other researchers who say...