Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document titled Northwest Territories Water Stewardship: A Plan for Action 2011-2015.

The Member raises a good suggestion and there is and has been over the years and in some communities there is an ongoing interagency type of arrangement where the involved departments and agencies get together to discuss some of the issues where the elected leaders in the community get together as well as part of the process to deal with issues. Usually, unfortunately, sometimes spurred on by a crisis or some tragic event that has happened in the community.

But I agree with the Member that there is a tremendous amount of community resources. It takes something to bring them together to do that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our best information, of course, is for those that are children in care that come under the Child and Family Services Act. The gap between, and I think the Member for Kam Lake acknowledged that and mentioned that gap for those teenagers. Our information is relatively weak. Thank you.

We are, as a government, contributing millions of dollars in this community to assist in any number of buildings, with the Salvation Army, with the Bailey House, with the YWCA. All the other facilities that are on the ground here in this community are, for the most part, funded by the Government of the Northwest Territories. What we have here is a community initiative that is they’re bringing together funds and now, as we move forward, the Member is trying to push this government separate from our budgeting process, separate from our capital planning process, to fund operations that we’re not...

We have made no specific contribution of that nature. Thank you.

My understanding is that the deadlines that were set by the federal government have slipped because of the election. Cabinet is not going to be sworn in or appointed until possibly tomorrow. We have this on our list to follow up on, along with many other issues. I will, of course, make note of the Member’s concerns.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was careful consideration given to the request. Yellowknife has, in the Northwest Territories, the best services available on the medical front, of nurses, nurse practitioners, doctors, obstetricians, everybody that you could possibly need to have a successful pregnancy, to do the prenatal and postnatal work. Yes, midwifery is nice to have if we can afford it.

I pointed out earlier that every region here outside of the large centres, the Sahtu, Nunakput, Tu Nedhe, Nahendeh, Mackenzie Delta, Monfwi, and Deh Cho, don’t have birthing services at all. So we have...

The staff will be involved. There will be a whole number of people and groups involved as we pull together the information. The task will be for ourselves as legislators, those that are going to be here in the 17th Assembly, to look at the work as they consider the business plan as a government, their first business plan to see where this ranks on the to-do list.

I would also suggest that as we look at the next contracts document at the end of this coming year, that I would think you’d see a diminishment of use of those services, just given some of the financial constraints and the concerns...

We have a number of agreements. We have the MARS agreement, which is applicable across Canada for mutual aid and reciprocal response. We have the Northwest Compact Agreement covering the western provinces and the northwest States, Canada/U.S. Reciprocal Agreements. We have the NWT-Alberta Border Agreements and agreements with Parks Canada for fires in national parks.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 14, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2011-2012, be read for the third time. Thank you.