David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to return to item 7, oral questions.

The Minister didn’t answer my question. What other walk aids are on the list that would be available to my constituent to help her in the condition she’s in? What are those other options?

Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. They go back to my Member’s statement from earlier today, where I spoke of a constituent who suffers from MS and her inability to get a WalkAide, which would enable her to walk, through Extended Health Benefits with the Department of Health. In her conversations with departmental officials they told her that this WalkAide was a luxury. I take great exception to anybody at Health and Social Services telling my constituent that a WalkAide, which would enable them to walk, is a luxury and suggesting to them that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak about the difficulties a constituent is encountering in dealing with Health and Social Services. My constituent has multiple sclerosis, or MS, as it is commonly referred to.

MS attacks the covering of the brain, causing inflammation and scarring. When this happens, the usual flow of nerve impulses along nerve fibres is interrupted or distorted. MS can be a very debilitating and progressive disease. Symptoms can include extreme fatigue, loss of balance, problems with coordination, stiffness of muscles, speech problems, bladder and bowel problems...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the Member for Great Slave for bringing forward the motion that’s before us today. I agree with the principle of the motion. Being the chair of EDI, any proposed changes to registration from the Department of Transportation would be vetted through the committee. I think a lot of the concerns — and concerns I share with Members…. I am not going to support any increase, especially in the smaller communities, for operating a vehicle. That’s just something I wouldn’t condone.

If we do move to something like this, I could see folks who want to buy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Premier for that response. You know, as an MLA you get questions all the time from constituents, and one of the questions that I’ve been getting numerous times lately…. I would like somebody to explain this to me. That’s why I’m going to ask the Minister today to explain this to me and explain to the residents in the Northwest Territories. How is it that every time we turn around, conservation is pushed on residents? Conservation of power, conservation of energy.

The residents in our territory are doing what they can to cut back on power. They’re...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation. Obviously, the world price of oil is down — actually 40 per cent in the last six months — and the GRA that’s underway, the General Rate Application, is premised on the fact that oil prices were inflated and the cost of doing business for the Power Corporation was such that they had to go out and get some more money from the consumers. That rate increase was pegged at 19 per cent. Given the fact that oil prices have recently dropped — today they are at about $74 a barrel — what will this do to the...

Mr. Speaker, I just want, maybe, to get the Premier to state on record: what exactly is his first priority? Is it the people of the Northwest Territories and the future of the Northwest Territories, or is it his constituents back in Inuvik?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier. They get back to my Member’s statement from earlier, where I spoke of the Premiers’ meeting in Montreal that took place yesterday.

As I mentioned, the Northwest Territories has fought long and hard to actually get a seat at the national table with the other Premiers from around the country. I believe it was in 1992 when former Premier Nellie Cournoyea became the first Premier of the Northwest Territories to actually sit with the other Premiers.

I was listening, like many Northerners, to Northbeat last night. The Premier...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to support the motion that’s before us on the milk subsidy program. I want to commend my colleague Mr. Bromley for having the sense and the courage to bring something like this forward. I think it shows a great deal of creativity. As a government I think we need to start somewhere, and this is a good place to start.

I think milk is absolutely a requirement in a child’s nutrition, and we need to make sure that children can get milk in the smaller communities where it’s costly. You know, I’ve been to Inuvik, and it’s interesting how the government can...