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Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the response from the Minister. So just in case anybody comes away with the wrong impression, I strongly support these changes to the Vital Statistics Act, and I appreciate the efforts of the Minister and his staff to do this. I just want to make sure that we're going to be able to do it in terms of the official names as well. I'm a very strong advocate for Aboriginal languages, all official languages, and I do appreciate the work of the department and look forward to having this sorted out soon. Thanks.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In the end, that's the sort of incentive that we need, COR certification and some sort of off-setting of fees through the WSCC. But safety does have a cost, and a premium refund to businesses who set up COR, no matter what the size, would be a good inducement. I urge all the Ministers to develop a coordinated approach to promote safety in the workplaces for small business. I'll have questions later today for the Minister responsible for WSCC. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I think we're getting to the bottom of this. So we don’t have the ability now to issue a birth certificate with the official names on it if they include non-Roman orthography fonts? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'm just curious, do we now have the ability then to use non-Roman Orthography fonts on birth certificates to indicate the official place names of communities? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I support the self-determination of individuals in terms of their gender identity and I was pleased to hear that the Minister has agreed to be more flexible on that matter when it comes to the actual regulation, so I'm glad to hear that and I understand you'll come back, look for other information, perhaps options, position on how to handle that in the case of minors. So we look forward to getting that information from the Minister. I have one other issue though with regard to this bill. I'm just wondering how the issue of place names on birth certificates are going to be...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that response; good to hear that. But because we're sort of forwarding money here, and I guess this is in response to work that's already been done and invoices or whatever that have been submitted by contractors, are we actually ahead of schedule? Is that where we're at? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Thank you very much. I haven't forgotten about what I've asked, so I'll continue on it, but I do appreciate the commitment from both Ministers. I'll be happy to work with them to try to move that along, because at the end of the day it will save us money. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yesterday in the House I tabled a letter from APADY, which is the Francophone Rights Holders Parents' Association of Yellowknife. Their position is that they haven't been adequately consulted on a proposal going into Heritage Canada to provide for additional funds for the expansion Ecole Allain St-Cyr. So I just want to get a commitment from the Minister that there's going to be closer collaboration with APADY and the French school board in finalizing whatever proposals get sent to Heritage Canada? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

I guess we have a difference of opinion here, but earlier I mentioned that COR certification can probably meet many of the same sorts of needs that the Minister spoke about, having these staff and working with small businesses and so on. But COR actually is subject to independent audit as well, so again the issue is one of cost for small businesses. Those that have already adopted COR, can't we find a way to help them in terms of their WSCC premium? So if the Minister won't consider refunds, can he suggest financial incentives or awards for businesses that do introduce a COR?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 38)

Merci, Monsieur le President. Earlier today I spoke about the WSCC Safe Advantage program and the practice of refunding a portion of premiums employers whose last three years of premium assessments were $40,000 and whose continuing premiums remain above $32,000.

Can the Minister responsible for WSCC explain why this refund feature is not available to all premium payers and only to those paying above a fairly substantial threshold amount? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.