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, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, October 24, 2008, I will move the following motion.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that the following persons be recommended to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories for appointment as members of the Human Rights Adjudication Panel during good behaviour for a term of four years:

Mr. James Posynick of Creston, B.C.; and

Ms. Karen Snowshoe of Inuvik, NWT.

And further, that pursuant to section 50(1) of the Human Rights Act the Legislative Assembly recommends to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories the...

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Minister. I welcome his comments. Given the fact that it costs so much to live, especially in the smaller communities, people’s ability to save money for a down payment for a home is inhibited by the cost of living itself and the high rents that they have to pay.

I thought I heard the Minister commit to looking at monies people have locked up in things like superannuation as a ways and a means to perhaps allow them to get into home ownership. Again, I think that was a commitment I heard from the Minister, but he may just want to reiterate the commitment. I look...

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to ask just one final question, I guess, about fuelling. Now that prices are low, I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation: why can’t we go out there? I’ll bet that the cost of fuel does go up in the near future. Why can’t we go out today and buy the fuel that we need for this winter and for next summer’s resupply? We can buy fuel that far in advance. I think that even if we have to borrow the money, if we can ensure that power rates in the communities are going to stay at a lower rate, we should be going out there and buying that fuel...

Mr. Speaker, I can understand and appreciate some of the previous costs. A lot of previous costs, as well, were because of bonuses paid to the senior management at the Power Corporation. I agree with my colleagues over here that are calling for a full scale review of the Power Corporation. I believe that they should find the way and the means within to pay for the fuel that they have had to pay for in the past and the costs that they have to pay for the past and not go and try to get it out of the pockets of residents in the Northwest Territories.

Again, I want to ask the Minister: given the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question. Given the gravity of the situation, the financial meltdown globally and the possibility that the federal government may look at cuts to equalization going forward, I’m wondering: why wouldn’t the Premier come to Members of the House and tell us, “I have to go to this meeting; I have to be at this meeting”? Why wasn’t that quoted to us? Why does the Premier make that decision on his own to stay in the House and not attend this meeting?

I thank the Premier for that. I’m glad he did get in touch with Premier Charest on the results of that meeting.

Like I said earlier, I think there is a good possibility that if the federal government starts running deficits, they’ll start choosing between deep program cuts and…. I’d hazard a guess that they would also take a look at axing programs. Possibly equalization might be included in that. Again, I want to make sure that the Premier understands the gravity of not being at this meeting.

I want to ask him again: what exactly warranted his presence in the House yesterday so that he couldn’t...