Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the beginning of the 16th Legislative Assembly, I and others, as you’ve already heard today, have been raising the delivery of midwifery services throughout the NWT as a concern and an opportunity. These services continue to remain popular and provide significant value to residents of the Northwest Territories. Until recently, there have been three midwives practicing in the Northwest Territories, two in Fort Smith and one in Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah.

Recently, the Minister announced that the midwifery services here in Yellowknife have been placed on hold and...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand the reason for this bill and for the most part I reluctantly agree with forgiving some of these dollars.

There’s one area that I have a big problem with and that is there’s three debts in here that arose out of fraudulent activities against the GNWT. Specifically, people stole from the GNWT and they were given an order by the courts to pay back the GNWT a certain amount of money. Now, for some reason, we have failed to collect that money and the time is such that now they’re statute barred, which means it’s kind of impossible to collect the money. As a result...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, May 18, 2011, I’ll move that Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, be read for the first time.

I thank the Minister for that. I think it’s important that its analysis is about implementation as opposed to whether the program has value. We already know that.

My question is still on this topic, and it’s specific. We know that there’s value in putting these positions in regional centres. We also know that there is significant fiscal restraint. This is something that the Minister has talked about over and over again. I’m not sure that I fully understand why, when we have competent professionals in our public service, people with lots of education and lots of skills, why we’re going to go out...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are in follow-up to my Member’s statement, also about midwifery services in the Northwest Territories. It’s going to be slightly different. I’ll try really hard not to ask the same questions. I’m wondering if the Minister could give me a quick, Coles Notes description of the intended purpose and scope of the review that will be done on the Midwifery Program in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to thank the Minister and the comptroller’s office for making that commitment to making sure that people who steal from us don’t get to keep the money they stole. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank Mr. Yakeleya for bringing this motion forward.

Mr. Speaker, the problem is real and this motion offers a reasonable and unique alternative which could be highly successful, and I support this motion. I hope that it’s given fair and reasonable consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for that response once again, but I am still concerned, like the Minister has said over and over again, about our significant financial restraints and limitations. During one of the fiscal updates in this House, the Minister did indicate that we were going to try and restrain and control expenditures from within. Once again, this seems like we’re going once again outside to have somebody else do a report for us when we have people to do it inside. I’m worried that this is going to end up being another report on a shelf as opposed to an action plan. If we have...

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Is committee agreed?