Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize my constituent from Hay River South again today, Germaine Michel, and I’m so glad she came to see the Legislature and have a tour here. It’s her first time, and anybody who lives in our territory should come and enjoy this wonderful building. I’d also like to, again, recognize my constituency assistant of 17 years, Wendy Morgan, and thank her for all of her support and all of her help over these years. To my husband, Rick Groenewegen, he is a good man. Just think of how boring his life would have been without me.

---Laughter

To my beautiful daughter...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the words of our deputy clerk, Mr. Schauerte, “day last.” When he starts our meetings he says that. Day last of the 17th Legislative Assembly and day last of 20 years in this Chamber for me.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to also make some thank yous. To my colleagues first, who are the mosaic and the diversity of the Northwest Territories and who bring that to the work here that we do together in the Legislative Assembly, I’d like to thank them.

To my colleagues who served in the Cabinet during the 17th Legislative Assembly, thank you for the extra hours and time that you’ve...

Like I said, sometimes things get a little tense around here, but Mr. Bouchard does have a wonderful sense of humour and I’ll just tell you one little incident. We were co-chairing a constituency meeting and I wanted to say something kind of off the record. I said to the whole audience – there were 100 people there – “So, if I can just take off my MLA hat for one minute,” and he turned to me in front of these 100 people and said, “You cannot take off your MLA hat at your own constituency meeting.” He put me right in my place. Of course, I laughed because, I mean, that’s just the kind of...

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Is committee agreed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be abstaining from voting on the motion for a couple of reasons. Number one, the work that’s outlined in here is already underway. We’ve already been briefed in Standing Committee on Social Programs on the review of the Medical Travel Policy. So, reference to the Auditor General and the report and all that, it’s already happening.

To the issue of us determining who should get a non-medical escort, it’s taking that decision out of the hands of the medical professionals and I don’t think that’s our role. So I’ll be abstaining from voting on the motion. Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have watched government for a long time and I know that there have been instances in the quite far past now of Ministers that were travelling with Regular Members and that there became a question after the fact about whether the people who were sponsored with taxpayers’ dollars to go to some of these events actually ever did attend them. Do we have any mechanism in place to ensure that when people do travel on government business that they do indeed attend the functions that they are travelling for?

I’d ask the Minister, then, if the same rigorous and strenuous monitoring and checking of expense claims for the Ministers that Minister Miltenberger has spoken of, if that would also apply to Regular Members, because, as I said, I think the public is very interested in being assured of that and knowing that that is the case.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Hay River South constituent Germaine Michel, who is here today with my friend Melody McLeod. It’s hard to believe that they’re auntie and niece. They look like sisters.

Also, yes, our former constituent Lisa Buckmaster-Balmer, who is in the Nursing Program here and, yes, wouldn’t it be great to have these gals come home?

I thought I heard Sarah Pope as well. I don’t know if she’s there today or not, but if she is, I’d like to recognize her.

Thank you. We’ll take a break.

---SHORT RECESS

I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of the committee today? Ms. Bisaro.