Statements in Debates
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much, colleagues, for allowing me to continue on with this motion.
WHEREAS the NWT Housing Corporation implemented new public housing rent scales on July 1, 2012, including new criteria for determining tenant household income in order to assess their rent;
AND WHEREAS the new criteria for household income includes child tax benefits which were not previously assessed as income;
AND WHEREAS federal and territorial tax benefits are intended to help eligible families with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age;
AND WHEREAS the Government...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, November 5, 2012, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that the NWT Housing Corporation immediately cease treating child tax benefits as income for the purpose of calculating public housing rents;
And further, that the Government of the Northwest Territories work to identify and eliminate other similar inconsistencies in its subsidy programs;
And furthermore, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this motion within 120 days.
At the appropriate time I will be...
Mr. Speaker, due to the increased number of vehicles, it is actually becoming an unsafe issue there. I think there are 10 stalls available for staff there, but there are more than 10 vehicles. They are actually parking on the road. It is creating a hazard.
Can the Minister take a serious look at it? Like he said, he can check with the department officials. Perhaps there is already a plan in place, but perhaps the resources aren’t there. If the Minister can do that, thank you.
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...
I’m glad that there is inventory taken of facilities. Is there a plan to fix these deficiencies as they are noted, particularly the Blackstone? Is there a plan to fix the noted deficiencies? I’m not too sure if it came out in the inventory as well. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing a copy of that year-end report as well. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to raise an issue with the Minister of ITI. It has come to my attention that there was a letter of complaint written about the Blackstone Territorial Park. Tourists found it in a sad state of repairs. The washrooms weren’t working, showers weren’t working, trailer dump station wasn’t working. When tourists travel in our region, we have to have good park facilities. They do mention that the staff there was very friendly and courteous and tried to be helpful whenever they could, but it seemed that, over time, Blackstone is apparently being neglected...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was just wondering if our legislation provides for nurse practitioners to also dispense medical prescriptions. Thank you.
The Minister mentioned the pharmaceutical strategy. I’m glad that at least they are evaluating it, but will the Minister review the prescription renewal system and make some changes that work better for smaller communities across the Northwest Territories? Do we have to wait for that pharmaceutical strategy? I think it would be implemented far sooner than the whole strategy. Thank you.
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