Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that. When I speak of on-the-ground transportation I’m usually referring to all of them because they all, as far as I’m concerned, are linked. So there’s 147 new positions going into the government and there’s 98 of them in Yellowknife alone. Would we not be able to allocate two of those 98 positions whose only function will be to pick up medical patients? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we are following the regulatory requirements under the Airports Act, the federal airports legislation. There is no requirement for this government to put in backup generators into the communities. We really don’t have the resources to put in backup generators in the communities, in the airports, and we don’t really have the resources to provide the maintenance and repairs this would all entail. So we don’t have the investment that’s required to do so. We have a plan that’s acceptable to the federal government and that’s the means that we are moving forward on this and providing...

Mr. Speaker, federal legislation doesn’t require us to have backup generators in each community. Navigation Canada moved away from providing backup generators some time ago. The acceptable process is to use flare pots, and the flare pots are available in each of the communities that the Member has referenced and that is the acceptable process. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, yes, we are looking at ways we can do things better and more efficient. We’re looking at trying to incorporate some hybrid vehicles. We do have plug-ins in the communities that allow us to use them. We’re looking at smart programs, smart driving programs for our employees that will require them to shut off their vehicles rather than leaving them running. We’re looking at putting remote heaters in some of our larger equipment so they don’t have to idle for long periods of time. So there’s a number of things we’re doing. We’re also trying to incorporate alternate energy systems for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no. The money in the $250,000 is application based. That money has already been committed. We have six communities that have applied for this money. They have been approved. That money has already been committed for this year. Tuktoyaktuk did not put in an application for this community revolving fund of $250,000. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recent events regarding a resident of Inuvik, who was travelling to Yellowknife for medical reasons, has lead me to question how patients are cared for when they arrive in Yellowknife. Is there any communication, Mr. Speaker, between the regions and Yellowknife as to what the patients are coming down for, and why do we have to put them in taxis? Is there not a boarding home van to pick the patients up, or was it after 5:00 p.m.? We cannot allow this to happen, Mr. Speaker. Why does the authorization have to come out of Yellowknife? Is this government’s...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we are covering 100 percent of the costs to upgrade the house to bring it to a standard where they can move back into the units. We are also ensuring that the houses are now at the 100 year high water mark. These people that own these houses did not have any other avenue. They lacked the resources to address the situation. I suppose we could have let them go and leave these houses contaminated. They would have been written off, but that didn’t change the situation, so we decided to pay for 100 percent of the cost of bringing these houses up to a standard where...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will commit to having that discussion with the municipalities. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the question was raised by the Member. We are planning to have that discussion with the NWT Association of Communities. There has been no formal request to have this reform take place as of yet, and we will do follow-up once that discussion takes place if there is a desire from that association to move forward on it. Thank you.

So the authorization came from the Minister, he states. So I'd like to know, who gave the Minister his direction. Did he consult with the regions? I think that to say the decision came from him, I'd like to ask, then, who did the Minister get his direction from? Thank you.