Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, excitement is growing everywhere about the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Vancouver. Yesterday, in our home community of Hay River, hundreds of people gathered at the Don Stewart Recreation Centre at a pep rally to celebrate the volunteers, artists and Hay River’s Olympic athlete, Brendan Green, who will be going to the Olympics.

Bob White and his pep rally committee worked hard to put together an outstanding presentation in only a few days.

Hay River Mayor Kelly Schofield had on his Team Canada jersey and a maple leaf, full face paint. The stands were...

The wish of the committee today is to continue with general comments on the Department of Health and Social Services and then to hopefully make some progress on the detail of the department. Thank you.

I realize that we don’t normally discuss the details or specifics of a particular patient or particular constituent, but I believe that this is a situation where someone needs to advocate on behalf of this constituent. He has been in the ICU department of Stanton for 10 months now. It is becoming very stressful for his partner to continue to travel from Hay River every weekend to be with him. His medical circumstances are unique. The family has signed a consent, a waiver, a release for medical information to be shared with myself as MLA. It really speaks to the desperation of the situation. I...

We have three youth ambassadors from Hay River: Michelle Daigneault, Rena Squirrel and Colton Yee. Tracy Cross was chosen as a volunteer to meet and greet guests and the airport in Vancouver. Desiree Boulanger-Rowe will be representing the NWT’s Francophone youth at the French pavilion. Hay River’s Brendan Green will be participating on the Canadian Biathlon Team.

To the volunteers, artists, and to Brendan, all of us again, from home, wish you every success in the Olympics. Good luck to everyone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am certainly not a doctor. There may be circumstances about this case that I am not familiar with. Having visited my constituent, he is certainly very alert mentally. He has mobility within his limbs. He can move his arms, he can move his legs, he can respond, nod his head. It seems like the unique and troubling part of it is his inability to continue breathing once he falls into a deep sleep. I know there are medical advances all the time that have to do with neurology. I’m asking the Minister to please commit to attempting to get this patient out of Stanton where he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of weeks ago I wrote a letter to the Minister of Health and Social Services to express to her my concern about a constituent of mine. This constituent had a very severe stroke about 10 months ago. Since that time, he has been cared for at Stanton Territorial Hospital and is currently in the ICU department. I had an opportunity to visit with my constituent last night. His partner is advocating for him. They would like to see him transferred to a facility that could assist him in being the recipient of physical rehabilitation as a result of this stroke. It’s my...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee would like to continue with general comments on the budget legislation and proceed, if we get through general comments, with the first department for consideration, the Department of Health and Social Services.

I’d like to ask the Minister what steps is our government taking now to ensure that this board, this management board, does get up to the same level of capacity and ability to address the caribou in this region. I understand perhaps that the makeup of it is complex and the politics of it are a little bit different, but what can our government do to facilitate this board getting up to the same level of expertise, knowledge and capacity that the other management boards are?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of ENR. You know, many would applaud the decisive measures that the Minister took to protect the caribou and this was not an easy decision, I am sure of that. However, some people out there are unhappy with the decision and feel that people were not properly consulted and that, in fact, this is an infringement on treaty hunting rights. So, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister today if he, looking back at the situation, can see any opportunity where things could have been done differently that would not have us at...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am going to take a little different tact here when it comes to the Department of Health and Social Services. I think we have a system that can be adjusted, that could do better, I am sure. Every community should have a nurse and everybody should have access.

But overall, in general terms, as a government we are spending $326 million on health and social services for 42,000 people in a remote and often rural part of Canada. It is a very big challenge, but I think for the most part we have a Cadillac version of health and social services here in the Northwest...