Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to acknowledge the accomplishment of a young man from Fort Simpson, Mr. Wesley Hardisty. Wes is only 18 years old. He took up the fiddle just five years ago through the outreach work of the Kole Crook Fiddle Association. His talent was obvious. As a young teenager he moved to Salt Spring Island, BC, to develop that talent at the Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts.

He has since performed at fiddle camps and festivals all across Canada, billed as a fiddling sensation. In 2011 he played for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their northern tour, and made...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The committee wishes to consider Bill 5, Legal Aid Act, and Bill 7, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to add some context to the motion. I love our consensus-style government. This issue was raised by a young lady from Fort Simpson in July or August when she wanted to give her income statements to the Housing Corporation for public housing rent. She contacted me right away, as her MLA, and said, they started using my child tax benefit as income. She said she doesn’t understand. That money is for milk and pampers; it’s not for rent.

That is the whole purpose of our subsidy programs territorially and federally. It is about assisting those that need it. Here...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave earlier today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It can be very difficult for people in small communities to renew their prescriptions for various drugs. Of course, there are no drug stores and no doctors in most Nahendeh communities.

In some ways our medical system makes the process more difficult than is really necessary. For example, when an elder has a prescription for a medication, why does it need to be renewed every few months? That means a doctor’s appointment that is not always easy to get. And if you run short of a prescription and the doctor isn’t coming to town for another month or so, it could mean ending...

Madam Chair, I move we report progress.

---Carried

Mr. Speaker, just one more follow-up. I didn’t hear the Minister respond to what specifically they will be doing at the Blackstone Territorial Park to fix those deficiencies. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad it will have upgraded facilities, but the complaint talks about repairs to the current, existing facilities.

What will be done to fix these deficiencies that were noted at the Blackstone Territorial Park? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 8 on the Order Paper. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

I’m glad the Minister is understanding of the issue that is impacting my constituents.

Has the Department of Health and Social Services taken the time to look at the way other jurisdictions handle continuous prescriptions? I believe there will be some useful lessons there. Thank you.