Michael Nadli

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has presented its Report on the Review of the Northwest Territories Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2011-2012 Annual Report.

The report, which includes five recommendations, was read into the record by the members of the committee and a motion was passed that moved the report into Committee of the Whole. The committee thanks Ms. Elaine Keenan-Bengts for her report and for her appearance before the committee on April 15, 2013.

The standing committee is pleased to see the government beginning to take action on some key...

Thank you to my colleagues, Mr. Speaker.

Note 21: Environmental Liabilities

The government recognizes that there are costs associated with the remediation of environmentally contaminated sites for which the GNWT is responsible. The standing committee was pleased to learn that the Auditor General of Canada considers the GNWT’s disclosure of these liabilities to have improved this year.

As of March 31, 2012, 139 sites for which the GNWT is responsible had been identified as potentially requiring environmental remediation. Twenty-six are active or decommissioned landfill sites that are outside...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and move Committee Report 3-17(4) into Committee of the Whole for consideration today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed the 2011-2012 Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. Members would like to thank Ms. Elaine Keenan-Bengts for her report and for her appearance before the committee at the public review on April 15, 2013.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly. Her primary role is to review and make recommendations on public bodies and decisions related to the Northwest Territories Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or the...

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister indicated, if medical travel is required, a physician is required. Communities that don’t have health centres, in particular Kakisa, if a patient has to travel to either Hay River or Yellowknife, they make a decision. If there’s going to be a review of the policy, can that be considered to accommodate the needs of residents from Kakisa that doesn’t have a health centre? Mahsi.

How does the Health Minister justify not paying for meals and accommodations when a patient has to come to Yellowknife for medical reasons? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since being elected, I have been pointing out some of the ways people in small communities are at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving services provided by our government. Medical care is one of the biggest and most important. As we all know, there are many medical services that are not available in the small communities, so people have to travel. In my region, that often means going to Yellowknife.

There are no commercial flights and people can only travel by road, either by taxi or by private vehicle, and it is a pretty rough trip for someone who is in pain. Many...

Thank you. Mr. Speaker.

Northwest Territories residents are fortunate to have had Elaine Keenan-Bengts, a lawyer in private practice, as the Information and Privacy Commissioner since 1997. This length of service provides the Northwest Territories with remarkable continuity and expertise in the complex and involved field of access to information and protection of privacy. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is grateful for Ms. Keenan-Bengts passion for information and privacy rights in northern Canada. It respects her work in reviewing complaints and making thoughtful, well...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on the 2011-2012 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and commends it to the House.

I understand that a couple years work went into the review of the Medical Travel Policy but it remains unchanged. What is the status of that review? Mahsi.