David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was wondering when the last operational review was done at the Yellowknife Correctional Centre. Given the trouble with the health services unit and indications of many other concerns and issues with the centre, I wonder if the Minister will commit to a full operational review of this facility. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s fine and good to say that the department has a good track record in terms of aboriginal employees, but given the fact that the YCC has an inmate population of about 90 percent aboriginal -- and that’s unfortunate in and of itself, Mr. Speaker -- it would make sense that we try to advance aboriginal employees into management positions. How many aboriginal employees are currently in permanent supervisory roles at the Yellowknife Correctional Centre? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I understand it, the audit was conduced solely by Ms. Shannon Weatherhead-McCoy, the chief of health services from Drumheller Institution in Alberta. Why wasn’t the Department of Justice corrections investigator involved in this audit, as was set out in the conveyance order? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In reference to my statement earlier today, I would like to ask the Minister if he knows or if he is aware, as the Minister of Justice, of the fact that guards at the Yellowknife Correctional Centre currently administer medications, narcotics and other medicine to inmates. This happens daily, even though none of the guards have formal training on handling these medications, and I am wondering if this causes the Minister any concern, and what this practice does to the GNWT’s liability. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for the Deh Cho Bridge project and that is Premier Handley. I would like to know what cost the GNWT has incurred to date for the Deh Cho Bridge project and why we haven’t seen a final design on the bridge project. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will continue on with my questioning for the Minister responsible for the Deh Cho Bridge project, and I will go back to a comment that he made. I don’t think you have to look any further than the YCC project for a poster for cost overruns, and the Minister is well aware of that. Can I get a commitment from the Minister when we might expect a design, something for instance -- you know, it has been two years -- something we can put on display in the Great Hall, something that would show that we actually do have a design and we actually do know what we are talking...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I mentioned this earlier, there hasn’t been an ice floe study on the mass and the volume during spring break up, and the impact that might have on the piers that are going to connect the bridge from one side of the river to the other. I’d like to also ask the Premier and mention this to him that there needs to be an incentive for the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation to not incur cost overruns in this project. This has to be in the agreement. The GNWT should not assume all the risk, and currently, under the agreement that I have seen here, we are assuming all the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Premier to supply that geotechnical work that supposedly has been done because to my knowledge, it hasn’t been done, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to insist that as a Member of this assembly that I know a final design price, expected tolls, and that I am privy to the financing agreement before the GNWT is committed to the next 35 years. Will the Premier agree to this? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to know if the Premier is aware of the fact that the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation recently had their submission to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board returned due to a lack of information. Does this cause him, as Minister responsible, any concern? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to use my Member’s statement today to speak about the proposed Mackenzie River bridge project. The Mackenzie River is one of the great rivers of the world. The Mackenzie River runs through most of our territory and affects and impacts many of our residents in a variety of different ways. It causes me a great deal of concern that this government is going down the path of building a bridge without all the answers to many questions. I should state for the record that I am a supporter of putting a bridge across the Mackenzie River. However, we should, at...