Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier for that explanation. I guess I still have my concerns that any time you take a huge amount of information and condense it down into something smaller, which is what that sounds like this is going to be, that an awful lot of it gets lost. You know, there’s the wheat and the chaff and I think a lot of this information is going to become chaff.

The Premier mentioned that the Northern Leaders Forum will meet at the end of November. I’d like to know, once this vision is developed from whatever comes to the table at the Northern Leaders Forum, will that...

Thank you to the Premier for that information. It kind of leads into my next question. I was going to ask what are the next steps that the Premier is going to take to take all of this information to get to a vision. He referenced the Northern Leaders Forum, and I guess I still need to know how the Premier expects that these forums that we’ve engaged in will lead us to a vision. Will we have a vision that gets to the Northern Leaders Forum and then they will bring their visions and then they start all over again? So, you know, who’s taking these next steps and what are they going to be? Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure, also, to recognize the many seniors that we have on hand today and particularly a pair of seniors who happen to be constituents, the Eggenbergers, who are sitting up here. They are seated with some long-time ex-Yellowknifers. I don’t know if they were here a long time or they’ve been gone a long time. Anyway, I’m very happy to recognize the Bendiksons, who have returned for a visit. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier mentioned beyond just the forums. There have been mail-outs to people who have wanted to send their comments in by mail. There’s been an on-line survey that’s been ongoing. So there’s any number of responses other than what’s summarized from the five or so forums that are the Premier’s website. I’m really concerned that… I guess I need to know again from the Premier, I didn’t hear an answer to how are all those broad answers, ideas, suggestions, specific ideas, specific actions relative to programs, how in heaven’s name is the Premier going to take those and condense...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned in my Member’s statement that I have a few concerns about the search that the Premier is on to find a vision for the NWT. In my experience and in my view, a vision, when it’s written down, is usually about three or four lines of text, and the questions that are part of the Premier’s process are very broad, very vague, and that’s, as I mentioned, the answers that we have gathered, or the Premier has gathered, are a very broad range. It leads to my concern about how we are going to end up with a vision from the results of these forums.

Any time we enter into...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been following with interest the Premier’s search for a vision over this summer, a summer which now unfortunately is long gone. It’s been hard not to notice the search. I see the ads every week and sometimes twice a week. The action that our Premier has taken trying to find out what NWT residents want, that action is admirable. Indeed, this Assembly, the residents of this Territory, need to know what we see for ourselves 20 to 30 years in the future.

The Premier wants the NWT to come together, to find a common goal, a vision for the future of the NWT. I struggle to...

I don’t think I heard an answer to the questions, but that’s alright.

I did mention in my statement, I quoted a GNWT policy. I have a question for the Minister. I’d like to know whether or not he’s aware of this policy. The department has a public education campaign on distracted driving, I believe. I’d like know if the Minister will be publicizing and promoting this GNWT policy as part of the department’s distracted driving public education campaign. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister of Transportation, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, have a Page that I’d like to recognize for his hard work: Branden Horn from Range Lake School here in Yellowknife. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve been speaking about distracted driving for some time now and I’m not about to stop. Consider me the never-stopping Energizer bunny, if you will.

Mr. Speaker, the data continues to show that people using hand-held devices, texting, checking messages, talking, playing games, et cetera, while driving, are detrimental to the driver’s health and, more importantly, to bystanders and other drivers, people who have no control over the actions of the offending driver.

Two recent news items, for instance: a skateboarder in Lethbridge caused a collision between...