Glen Abernethy

That is very good news. Building upon this review, some of the NWT-based filmmakers would also like an opportunity to meet with the Minister himself to help him understand the impact this industry could have on the Northwest Territories. Would the Minister also commit to meeting with a small delegation of these NWT-based filmmakers, myself and my colleague Mr. Bromley, to discuss the industry in hopes of helping the Minister better understand the industry as a whole?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the vision of the GNWT is strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories.

To have a prosperous Northwest Territories we need strong economies and opportunities for Northerners to find meaningful employment. This government spends a significant amount of their time and energy trying to support industry which will help create meaningful employment in the diamond industry, as well as in oil and gas exploration. Although most of these focus on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the goals of the 16th Legislative Assembly is healthy, educated people. One of the activities identified under the goal is to improve support for children and adults with special needs and disabilities. FASD is a reality with the Northwest Territories. Unfortunately, there are many adults who remain undiagnosed in the Northwest Territories and are therefore ineligible to receive support and programming available which is available to people who have been diagnosed as children. As a result, these undiagnosed individuals may face greater challenges than those...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to present a petition dealing with the matter of diagnosis and treatment of residents affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 749 signatures of NWT residents.

Mr. Speaker, the petitioners request that the Government of the Northwest Territories implement medical diagnosis and specialized programs and treatments for the residents affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m sorry, I forgot to include my colleague Mr. Hawkins. Obviously he should be there as well. Lastly, I’m glad you’re going to be doing the review, but I think it’s very important that we get outside-of-the-government input as well, not just the filmmakers, but other industries and people that would benefit from the industry. I was hoping I could get the Minister to commit to going well beyond just the filmmakers themselves.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As outlined in my Member’s statement, as a government we must place greater focus and attention on small, sustainable and local economies. The NWT film industry would support employment, cultural promotion, highlight the NWT as a potential place to work, visit and live, yet there’s little or no GNWT support for this industry. Clearly ITI doesn’t recognize the value of this industry. Filmmakers in the NWT would like an opportunity to demonstrate the value that this industry does have to the NWT.

As such, they would like the GNWT to facilitate an independent review of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister keeps telling us that this is the best program in Canada. I can’t argue that. On paper, it’s the best in Canada and certainly the most lucrative. But when she says that it doesn’t actually include the cost of living in the Northwest Territories, and slight changes will send us to a tipping point that may well result in people leaving the Northwest Territories, yet there’s no evidence of research done -- and I’ve said this several times -- to suggest that they’ve even done any analysis on that. Will the Minister commit to actually doing the research on the...

The motion to do this review happened well over a year ago. I noticed that the Minister points out that they spoke to the advisory group, which I understand is a GNWT. I didn’t hear any reference at all to actually meeting or talking with the stakeholders, the seniors, the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities. So I’d like to thank the Minister for confirming that they didn’t, in fact, do that.

I see zero evidence in any of the information provided by the Minister that the Department of Health and Social Services conducted any research into the possible effects of proposed changes resulting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to follow up on my colleague Wendy Bisaro’s Member’s statement from last Friday on the changes to the Supplemental Health Benefits Program. For the record, I completely agree with Ms. Bisaro. I, too, find the document released by the Department of Health and Social Services leading. It’s clear that the Minister has a preferred course of action on the changes to the program and has released information that will ensure that the department gets what the department wants.

I encourage the Minister to remember the motion that was passed in this House. The...

The motion is clear. I was wondering if the Minister could tell us why the Minister ignored what the motion said.