Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to ask a question here with regard to the, I guess it’s the org chart for lack of a better way of putting it for the department, and I’m presuming corporate management is where this new assistant deputy minister positon is going. I see later on there’s an increase in one PY. Could I get, from the Minister, a bit of an outline of how many positions we have in upper management in the department? I thought we had quite a few assistants and a number of high-level management-type positions already. I’m wondering why we need another assistant manager. How many have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in Committee of the Whole yesterday, the City of Yellowknife has a land issue. A quick look around the city shows that this city’s expansion is hampered by water bodies and large rock outcrops. That’s why Yellowknife is so compact and the lack of urban sprawl is something that Yellowknife has been recognized for. This is something that other cities strive for.

Right now with lands withdrawn from development by Aboriginal government and the territorial government releasing little land to the city, Yellowknife is reaching the end of available land to use for...

I guess I would like to know from the Minister, if these positions are not filled, will they be decentralized first and then filled, or will they be filled and then decentralized? Thank you.

Mr. Chair, just to confirm, that’s three translators and an assistant deputy minister. Are they the four new positions in addition to the service officers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I’d like to ask him some questions around a strategy which has been under development for quite some time. We all know that our health costs are very high. It’s the largest department that we have within this government. We also know that within that department that drug costs are probably the highest or it’s a very large percentage of that total budget. Both nationally and provincially people are looking to try and reduce those costs.

Members have been hearing since January of 2013 about the...

Thanks to the Minister. I appreciate that commitment and look forward to some more info.

Lastly, it’s my understanding from the conversations that Yellowknife MLAs have with City Council – we do that fairly regularly – the city has asked for a number of parcels in and around the city and that some of them, in negotiating with the GNWT, are going to be not turned over to fee simple but are going to be turned over as leases. I wonder if I can get some kind of an explanation. That makes me frown. As an ex city councillor I don’t understand why we would want to force the city to take over a piece...

To the Minister: I’m glad that that is the case, but I want to urge the department to look seriously at the issue of cost to municipalities for going outside of their municipal boundaries for highway ground ambulance and rescue. Certainly, there is going to become a time when if money is extremely tight and a municipality does not want to put an extra burden on their taxpayers and/or they don’t have the money in their budget, it’s entirely possible that their council may direct them not to go out to do a rescue because it’s costing them too much money and they can’t afford it. I urge the...

Thanks to the Minister. So, as I heard the Minister then, I have no home, I have two children and I need some place to stay and the Minister is telling me I have to go to an emergency shelter. So, I’d like to know – the YWCA is full, I’m not accepted at the Salvation Army because I have a family – what emergency shelter is there in the city of Yellowknife for me to go to? Thank you.

To the Minister: I have to say, on behalf of my local government, that’s a very far in the future date, in my estimation, when we’re going to get a land claim agreement with the local Aboriginal group. So, you know, for my community government it severely hampers what they can do in terms of acquisition of land in and around the city.

My second question has to do with the Yellowknife harbour, so to speak, and it’s no secret that the city is investigating the development of a harbour plan and they’re looking at trying to put some system in place to get some revenue from houseboats. Some of them...

Thanks to the Minister. I will wait anxiously to hear what’s coming in that briefing.

My other question here has to do with the ground ambulance and highway rescue situation. As I understand it, the Minister mentioned in his opening remarks the funding of $400,000 to enhance community capacity in this area. I would like to know…and I think on page 370 I believe it’s mentioned. Yes, it is. I hope, Mr. Chair, I can reference a number that’s on page 370 that also goes to page 369. The ground ambulance and highway rescue is set at $400,000. It’s been that, the same as last year. There was an...