Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My questions today, too, concern the general purpose office building. I’m not 100 percent agreeable to this concept. I have reviewed some of the briefings on the issue. I think we’re looking for some of the dollars that we’re saving over a longer period of time, then we could also do half a dozen things to look at what the territorial government does to save that kind of money. If we look at long term versus rewards, there are a lot of things that the territorial government does that we could eliminate costs.

One of the first questions I have for the Minister is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education. It’s concerning the financial assistance program. One of the concerns I’ve heard of during the campaign was that we are fully funding a lot of the students, which I recommend is a good idea, but we have no agreements to see any of those benefits. Some of the fully funded students get jobs in the South and there’s no agreement for us to see any of their benefit in the North. Will the Minister see if that will be part of the review?

As far as the assessment of the prepackaged systems that are out there, is that included in these costs of the system?

That’s good to hear. I’ve heard that there are difficulties with sharing information and this system will allow that, of sharing information from the local hospital authority to the territorial Stanton Hospital.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My question is about the territorial electronic medical records system. Can I just get an overview of what that system will entail and how it’s going to be implemented?

My next question is: Has the department assessed the dredging needs throughout the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to bring up the issue of Hay River’s harbour, because most of you know that Hay River is a natural transportation hub. Hay River is the start point for a lot of the barging and tugboats that go up or down the Mackenzie. The harbour is important to commercial vessels, commercial fishing and recreation uses. We have a Canadian Coast Guard based there as well.

The federal government once dredged the harbour to clear the silt that came down the Hay River. The federal government no longer dredges the harbour. The growing sandbars are making it more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the Human Rights Act provides for the establishment of the a Human Rights Commission and the appointment of commission members;

AND WHEREAS a commission member holds office during good behaviour for the term of four years;

AND WHEREAS Section 17(9) of the Human Rights Act provides that the Commissioner, on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, may, for cause, remove a commission member from office;

AND WHEREAS William Turner was appointed a member of the Human Rights Commission on November 1, 2010;

AND WHEREAS William Turner has admitted to taking...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, December 12, 2011, I will be moving the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that this Assembly recommend to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories that the appointment of William Turner as a member of the Human Rights Commission be revoked effectively immediately.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.

Can the Minister of Transportation inform me of any discussions the department has had recently with the federal government on dredging?