David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask the Minister, when exactly can we expect a report or a status report on where this work is at? I thought I heard him say two weeks, but what are we going to get in two weeks? This is something that needs urgent, urgent action; tomorrow. There is going to be a major incident at this hospital, whether it's with an employee or whether it's with a client and it's going to happen if we don't do something about it. So I'd like to ask the Minister when. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I am going to begin discussing a very important issue and that is the state of health care here in the Northwest Territories. This, for me, Mr. Speaker, will be a recurring theme over the next three weeks. A guiding principle for any politician is they always strive to do their best to represent their constituents. I take this principle very seriously and that’s why, Mr. Speaker, I must stand up in this House today and say that I do not believe that we are, in fact, doing our best.

Is it fair or right that the Premier and the Members of this House are allowing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister had the opportunity to attend my constituency meeting two weeks ago, he'd understand that the scenarios and the level of concern at Stanton Hospital is, in fact, probably worse than it was in 2001, 2002, and something, Mr. Speaker, needs to be done. I'd like to ask the Minister, there's been some talk of a staffing review. We did an operational review in 2002. Recently, in April of this year, we've gone and done another staffing review of the same facility. I'm just wondering where exactly is this phantom staffing review. I've heard...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members have been asking, for some time, for a detailed costing on where this $3.5 million has gone and exactly what it’s been spent on. We haven’t received that level of detail yet on where this money has gone and what it’s been spent on. From what I hear, the Premier -- and I would like again to ask him this question -- is there going to be anymore money spent on the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation? Is it going to cost the residents here any more money? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again I will get back to this. I think that the Premier and this Cabinet are eroding the responsibility that they have to the residents of the Northwest Territories by not having one Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. I am not saying that the Minister can’t do the job or his work ethic or anything like that. What I am saying is that we need one Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. He shouldn’t be saddled when other Ministers don’t have as much of a workload. That is what I am getting at. I want to ask the Premier, if...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t know why we continue to put our dollars at risk while we wait for a decision from the federal government. That’s for certain.

The other thing I want to ask the Premier is what exactly are the other costs that are associated? If you are saying that it’s $100,000 in interest, I can see a loan guarantee of $3.55 million costing much, much more than $100,000. What is going to be the final tab on the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and what is it going to cost the residents of the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the government currently working with industry to try to find some ways to keep people here? There has been many of us on this side of the House over the past three years who have suggested ways and means to try to attract people and retain people here in the Northwest Territories. For instance, a tax-free zone north of 60 has been suggested, tax deductions have been suggested, we talked about putting the revenue from resource royalties in trust. That hasn’t gone anywhere either. I would like to ask the Premier that question. Where is that at, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize chief of the Yellowknives Dene, Mr. Peter Liske and former chief, Mr. Richard Edjericon. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a question, a group of questions that is paramount to the government in its totality. That’s why I am asking the Premier those questions. I would expect that the Premier would be able to answer those questions that I am asking, Mr. Speaker. Again, my colleague, Ms. Lee, asked the Premier, produce some evidence that you have asked the federal government and the federal government has put us on the radar. Where is the proof? Where is the evidence? We have stood up here time and time again and asked the government to suggest things to the federal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Premier, Mr. Handley. It gets back to my Member’s statement that I made earlier in terms of what the real state of the economy here is in the Northwest Territories. For a territory of 42,000 people with an economy that’s grown 71 percent in the last number of years, to be losing people is very, very concerning to me and concerning to a lot of residents here in the Northwest Territories.

I would like to ask the Premier if the government has a strategy to deal with the migrant worker issue. The reason I ask this question is we...