Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Once again, going to ITI, I’m talking to ENR. I’d like to see ENR live up to the same high standard that the Minister of MACA set when he responded to poor information given out by his department. They turned around and they made it right. I need ENR to make it right in this situation. There is not even an attempt here. I would like the ENR Minister to meet with the outfitters and work with them to come up with a resolution so that these individuals can get some money back as a result of the bad information that the Minister’s staff gave. They are his employees and they were speaking on his...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for ENR and are a follow-up to my Member’s statement.

On December 18, 2008, senior representatives of ENR met with some barren-ground caribou outfitters. At that time they told the barren-ground outfitters that for the 2009 hunting season and the 2010 hunting season their tags would not be affected and that 750 tags would be available. As a result, the outfitters went ahead and started booking hunts and collected deposits and whatnot. Then, obviously, the numbers were cut back and there were no tags.

These individuals...

This situation was made worse by the fact that in November 2009 another senior ENR official was quoted in Above and Beyond indicating that caribou numbers for the NWT are going up. In addition, in October 2009 the Minister of ITI made several tourism-related statements indicating the value of outfitting in the NWT. These statements lent credibility to ENR’s earlier statements and increased the outfitters’ confidence that their tags would not be affected in 2010.

Given that these long-time, committed Northerners relied on this information in good faith, I believe that the Minister of ENR should...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As politicians we all must be impeccable with our words. Our residents listen closely to what we say and make personal and professional decisions based on what they hear in this House and statements quoted in the press. This is especially true for Ministers. When a Minister or one of his or her staff makes a statement to people of the Northwest Territories, those people take those statements at face value. As a result, there is significant value in thinking about the statement and understanding the ramifications of the words before making them public.

Unfortunately, from...

I know ITI is doing an awful lot. They’re trying. I have some questions that I’ll ask the Minister on that later. What I’m talking about is the fact that ENR gave bad information, bad advice to residents who relied on that information to their detriment and are now in a negative financial position which might drive them into bankruptcy. They relied on what the government said and they are hurting as a result, because the government changed their mind. I want ENR, who is the department who gave the advice, to work with these individuals and find some common ground, possibly reimbursing them...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a resident of the Great Slave riding, Ms. Margaret Peterson. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my colleagues for supporting this motion.

Just for the record, young men and women in the Northwest Territories who have failed to be diagnosed as children who wish to be diagnosed do not receive support in getting that diagnosis from the GNWT. I know of several situations where that has occurred and the government has not stood up to help these individuals.

I attended and met with individuals in Alberta who are actually doing adult assessment FASD or adult assessment for FASD and they are finding huge benefits and advantages of doing these types of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS NWT health and social services covers the cost of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) assessment for children and not adults;

AND WHEREAS many cases of FASD in children are going undiagnosed because of the lack of awareness and stigma associated with the disorder;

AND WHEREAS undiagnosed children are growing up and struggling with physical, intellectual and behavioural difficulties in adulthood;

AND WHEREAS the government is committed to working with residents in an effort to help them live healthy and productive lives;

AND WHEREAS adults who may have undiagnosed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 11, petitions, on the orders of the day. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted.