Robert Bouchard

That’s great to hear; and my friends in the trucking industry will probably be happy to hear that as well.

My next question is all the inconsistencies I was speaking of today in the two jurisdictions, whether it has to do with licence plates, whether it has to do with wide load signs, whether it has to do with truck qualifications, whether a pick-up is 4,500 kgs and the class of driver’s licence you require for that. What is the department doing to try to get the jurisdiction, considering it’s mainly with Alberta, but because we are so adjacent and that’s where the majority of our stuff comes...

Under current regulations they could get a class 3 driver’s licence driving a one-ton pickup pulling a trailer, and then turn around and jump into a gravel truck fully loaded with gravel out on our commercial highways, and if they got the air brake endorsement, they could jump in that gravel truck, but only getting it with a pickup truck.

It just seems that we have too many inconsistencies and our regulations are not conducive to business in the Northwest Territories. We need to look at these regulations. It just seems like the Department of Transportation seems to be slowing down the working...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, June 3, 2013, I will move that Bill 22, Territorial Emblems and Honours Act, will be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I indicated, some of these applications are going back and being mailed. We’ve looked at the website, and the website seems like it’s very inefficient. So these applications are being returned to people incomplete. Is there not a quicker way, either by phone call or e-mail, or an e-mail on the website that somebody can send information to or their questions to? Obviously, the applications are coming back, people are phoning in, the phone number is not working because half the mailboxes are full when somebody calls and they can’t even leave a message. So I understand maybe the resources and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will follow up on my colleague’s questions on the health care cards and the renewals. I am wondering what the department is doing to commit resources to speeding this process up and the backlog that is currently happening in the system. What is the department doing? The Minister indicated 11,000 have been completed but they are estimating that there is somewhere around 35,000 to 40,000 that have to be completed, so we are only about a quarter of the way done. What is the department committing its resources to speed the process up and make sure it works faster?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this year, along with my colleague, we had concerns about the health care card renewal system and the way the process is going. We continue to get these concerns from constituents, and we’ve also heard from our colleagues throughout the Northwest Territories that this continues to be an issue.

We are getting examples of people that are asked to apply three months before the expiry of their birthdate, and those cards are expiring without getting renewals or even notification that they’ve been renewed and updated. The department, when we’ve asked them about this...

I guess I needed to pipe in there a little bit about the comments on the Business Incentive Policy office in Hay River. We’re talking about four positions and Mr. Bromley is using statistics that have to do with the South Slave area where we’re looking at 300-and-some jobs versus 2,600. I mean, you can use a percentage if you want, but we’re talking about 300-and-some jobs compared to 2,600 in the Yellowknife area. So, I mean, it’s comparing apples to oranges, and I know this has nothing to do with the debate, but if we’re going to start debating this from the House and this is the first four...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Along those lines of communication, what are we doing for the health care centres, the health clinics, the pharmacies, to provide them with information, to provide them with this excellent line of communication? Because that’s where residents, my residents that I talk to, have been going and several residents have been going to get the information. It seems like the pharmacy has a separate line of communication that they can use. What are we doing to assist those groups, those private groups that are basically carrying the ball for the GNWT?

I guess my question is still what kind of resources? Obviously, we as MLAs are getting e-mails, three or four a week from different people that are having difficulty getting renewed. Obviously, the process is not working quickly right now. What resources are we committing to make sure that the process works quicker?

The residents of the Northwest Territories are frustrated right now. Myself and Mrs. Groenewegen have given you several examples today of people who have applied, including myself. My card would have never renewed before my birthday. I had to go to the pharmacy and get it updated...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize the Princess Alexandria School Grade 6 class, their teacher Jennifer Tweedie; their chaperones Terrance Coutorielle, Ken Cunningham and Colleen Cochrane; and the students. I’d just ask the students to stand up as your name is called. Your name is going into the record of Hansard, so your names will be here forever. Riella Bordey, Marcel Cayen, Hannah Courtorielle, Elli Rose Cunningham, Keisha Giroux, Jacob Harder, Kadin Hare, Zackary Horton, Ashley Lamalice, Carson Smith, Tori Blake, Carson Borchuk, Lisa Boutilier, Katesha Buggins, Shayla Buggins...