Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As announced in the recent federal budget effective this past June 1st, the Government of Canada will be raising the duty-free exemptions for cross-border shopping. Canadian residents who have been out of the country for 24 hours will be able to bring back $200 worth of goods duty free. This current exemption is only $50. The exemption for trips of 48 hours or more will increase from $400 to $800 worth of product duty free.

For the majority of Canadians who live within a few hours of the U.S. border – which is most of the country – this is a real tangible benefit. It...

Question has been called. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Bill 1 is now deemed ready for third reading. I’d like to thank Minister Lafferty and his witnesses for their attendance here today. I’ll ask the Sergeant-at-Arms if he would like to escort the witnesses out of the Chamber. Thank you.

Please turn your attention to Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act. I’d like to ask MLA Blake if he would like to introduce the bill. Mr. Blake.

Does committee agree that this concludes the business before Committee of the Whole today?

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. We will proceed with that after a very brief break. Thank you.

---SHORT RECESS

Here is the insanity of the situation. If we’re going to put in something that works, it’s going to have to be up to code, which is going to cost, according to the latest quote from Public Works, $55,000. How can we have a facility that is up to code but not useable by a person with a disability that’s in a wheelchair? I mean, there’s no code standard with something that is unsafe and unusable for a person with a disability. Do I need to tell my constituent to go and file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission or something? I mean, it’s not acceptable that she cannot go to the Hay River...

I guarantee that the concerns of my constituent could absolutely and completely be addressed for less than $5,000, including labour. How many plumbers and carpenters do we have working for Public Works and Services in Hay River? How many are on staff at the hospital themselves that could not reinforce the drywall and put a horizontal bar in a washroom so that a person in a wheelchair could use the washroom?

It is a sad day; $55,000 for a washroom renovation. I am embarrassed. I am disgusted. I can’t even go back and tell my constituent. I am offering today to pay to have this fixed. I’m going...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to move that we report progress.

---Carried

I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. The Speaker has listed the items that are before Committee of the Whole today. I would like to ask what is the wish of the committee. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated in my Member’s statement today, I have a constituent who has an issue that should be of concern to all of us. My constituent is a very articulate person, and when we met with the public administrator and the CEO of the hospital, she was very clear on what it would take to make the washrooms at the hospital accessible and useable by someone in a wheelchair such as herself. I am sad to say that since that meeting six months has gone by. The hospital is operated by Health and Social Services, but Public Works and Services would be involved in any kind of a...