Jane Groenewegen

A motion is on the floor. To the motion.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. I’d like to ask the Member if he would like to bring witnesses into the House.

Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion.

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recognize my colleagues today for using their first languages and their second languages. I only know English, so I’ll be doing my statement in English. Thank you. It’s my first and only language.

I have a constituent. She’s confined to a wheelchair. She has MS. She has to attend at the Hay River Hospital from time to time for medical treatment. In the common areas of our hospital we do not have a washroom facility that is set up for a person in a wheelchair.

I have been talking about this for a long time, and about six months ago I made arrangements for my constituent...

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

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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...