Sandy Lee

…because my questions, Mr. Speaker, of this project have nothing to do with the capacity of ATCO to build these Novel trailers or any other trailers they build. ATCO is a well-established company in the North. They employ a lot of people and I have no problem accepting that that company can do the job. The question here we have to ask is, if we have a $300 million project with social housing, how do we best spend that? We need to do the due diligence test that takes us at the end of that analysis that, in fact, ATCO Novel is the best way to go. We are not there yet. To say, whenever we are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to do a brief reply to the budget address, as well. Let me just make one general comment about the budget, Mr. Speaker, first.

I do share Mr. Braden’s point that there has been quite a bit of feedback from the people out there on not only on what is in the budget, but what is not in the budget. I think for future references, the Minister of Finance should be mindful of the fact that the budget document is not just a communication tool for him to speak to the Minister of Finance in Ottawa. It is a document for everyone...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that’s a good restatement of what I was looking for on the part of the Minister. I would like, at this time, to make a motion to report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like I stated, I don't think education is enough. I don't think there's anybody who doesn't know that going on a snowmobile at 130 kilometres is not a good thing. It's not the right thing; it's not the legal thing. But I have watched enforcement officers coming and their equipment can't catch up with the speed of some of these distant snowmobilers. Mr. Speaker, I think that we need to have some legislative teeth, and I would asks the Minister to work with the municipal organizations and federal government, and take a lead on looking at what sort of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that information. I think the important thing that the Minister and we all need to keep in mind in dealing with health care professionals, especially nurses, is that while working to bring professionals like nurse practitioners and we are training them, they have a unique role to play in the whole health care delivery system, but we need to make sure that we are increasing the human resource capacity and not replacing one with another, with an end effect that we end up with the same load. That’s not going to address the need for nurses and health care...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Justice and it's in regards to an issue that's been in the media a lot, and that has to do with the injuries from snowmobile accidents, Mr. Speaker. We live in a winter country and snowmobiling is something that a lot of people consider as an essential, as well as sports and recreation. But it is an area of activity that does see casualties and injuries and fatalities every year, Mr. Speaker. The national studies show that snowmobile injuries constitute at least 40 percent of all sports and recreation injuries...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have one question about the new Chalmers Report. I know that the report has come out and the Minister offered to give us a briefing, but we could just not put that on the agenda. I just want to know if this new budget reflects any recommendations coming out of that report. Thank you.

I worked until 10:00 last Sunday, and I believe that record is for the public at the security desk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess I asked for that when I listed all of those items, but we only have one more budget left in this Assembly. I think this is the Minister’s fifth year mandate. There are a lot of things in the books. Are we to expect some results on what his concrete proposals are on all of these areas in the next business plan cycle? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There are a lot of issues here. I do want to save most of them for detailed discussions, but I do want to raise one issue about homecare. I speak in favour of the program. I do appreciate that we are working on a whole spectrum of services to take care of those in need of varying degrees of intervention and care. I know that, in the city of Yellowknife, homecare is one that is very appreciated. It is oversubscribed. I think there is a bit of an issue with homecare when we know that homecare is supposed to be used to promote independent living. It is to care for...