Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS Tabled Document 38-16(5) has been tabled in this House;

AND WHEREAS Tabled Document 38-16(5), Supplementary Health Benefits - What We Heard, requires detailed consideration;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that Tabled Document 38-16(5), Supplementary Health Benefits - What We Heard, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, May 17, 2010, I will move the following motion: now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that Tabled Document 38-16(5), Supplementary Health Benefits - What We Heard, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition dealing with the matter of supplementary health benefits. Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 495 signatures of NWT residents and, Mr. Speaker, the petitioners request that access to supplementary health benefits be expanded and that incremental costs to support the expansion be funded through graduated territorial income tax. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has already acknowledged that we, when people are retiring, have encouraged people not to take our insurance. I am curious what the Minister plans to do for those people that have taken our information in good faith and have declined the insurance provided by the GNWT because they were under the impression that they were going to get coverage as seniors basically for the rest of their lives in the Northwest Territories and today we turn around and we say we know we told you not to take the insurance, but tough luck. What are we going to do with those people, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table a motion put forward by the Elders Parliament on the Supplementary Health Benefits Program. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is a far bigger problem than the Minister is giving it any credit for. I met a young man yesterday. He has a chronic condition. It costs him $10,000 a month. If that individual, who just graduated from university goes and works for the GNWT, he gets 80 percent coverage under his insurance. Therefore, he is only going to be spending $2,000 a month out of pocket. He is probably going to start at about $50,000, so if he chose to say, okay, I don’t want to work for the GNWT, I am going to go somewhere where they don’t give me insurance, he is going to get all the money...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Originally, I was going to ask questions to the Premier on supplementary health, but now I am going to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services some questions on supplementary health. In responding to Ms. Bisaro, the Minister of Health said that this new policy excludes nobody. Can the Minister please confirm for me that this new policy that is going to be proposed is not going to exclude anybody? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I tabled a process convention that was fully agreed upon by Caucus in Fort Smith last summer on the standing committee review of proposed policy initiatives and implementation plans. This process convention outlines the roles of Cabinet, Ministers and committees, when it comes to establishing new policies or making substantive amendments to or rescinding of existing policies. This process convention does not apply to minor administrative amendments which will not significantly impact established policy commitments.

I suggest that the proposed...

I would like to call Committee of the Whole to order. On our agenda we have Tabled Document 4-16(5), Executive Summary of the Report of the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project. What is the wish of the committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.