Sandy Lee

Range Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

I don’t think I could counter that. I think that’s something that could be argued. All sin taxes we have to weigh the balance between providing a disincentive by raising the taxes, but we are aware that those who are severely addicted will get those items no matter what, against their self-interest and the well-being of themselves and the families around them. The flip side of that coin is if even without taxes being raised, probably those other people who because of their addiction issues do not spend money where they should be, on their families, anyway. I don’t think there’s any right or...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

Mr. Speaker, we do have a set process on hiring and job description and such that is actually within the mandate of HR. For me, for now, what I want to indicate to the Member and the local leadership in Fort Good Hope is that I like the idea that they are proposing. I would like to see how we can work together to make that happen, because we need to agree on the proposal, agree on the sort of job description and what it is that we are expecting this new position to do. It is about doing things differently within the resources we have. But, so far, I am very interested in pursuing that proposal...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

Well, an administration fee is different than a mark-up. Thank you.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

Just in order of questions the way the Member raised it. On chronic disease management, which includes diabetes support, the Member asked if we were spending more money in the Sahtu. I answer that we’re not spending more money, but that is not to say we’re not doing the work, because that is part of our core business. The nurses and health care workers in our communities are equipped to help our people with managing chronic diseases, and diabetes is one of them. We use technology, if necessary, to support that. I am aware, in all of my travels in the Sahtu communities, that they have men...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

As I recall, I believe we were talking about a campaign similar to Don’t Be a Butthead and there were some suggestions such as Don’t Be a Bottleneck or something like that. That was about two budget cycles ago. We were working on more investment money under Strategic Initiatives committees, but as the Member knows and the Legislature is aware, we’ve had to curb the money available under those initiatives. So the work that we do on addictions and dangers of alcohol abuse and such is done as part of our everyday business. We were not able to launch a whole new program similar to Don’t Be a...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that information right now, but the position is vacant, as the Member is aware. The community has different ideas on how to address community wellness issues. I am open to that proposal. We have written to the chief that we would like to take it to the next level and work with the local leadership along with Sahtu Health Authority. I am very interested in seeing this through. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

Yes, we could do that.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

Mr. Chairman, I have to go to weeks back when that file was more alive than it is now. I just haven’t had the latest update on that, but I do believe Education, Culture and Employment was spearheading that file. I could say to the Member, you know, frankly, that we are hard pressed to come with new initiatives. I know that should there be choices for the Member to make, he will put this on top of probably lots of other things.

From where I stand, we are under a $36 million deficit. We have restraint in place in every part of our program. There are lots of things that we would like to be able to...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

Yes, it’s true that there’s no new money in this budget but our response is that we will put it through the next business plan cycle, which is the way financial business is done.

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 38)

As I stated earlier, we’ve had three definite infections and two possible other infections. Infection control in hospital settings is an increasing concern nationally. It is a discussion that all of the health care professionals are engaged in. This could break out at any time and the important thing is that we have the confidence in the staff that we have, that they are equipped and qualified and knowledgeable to address that. The public health officer has reviewed the process and we are meeting all national guidelines. Thank you.