Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question here relative to a new committee that was established recently, the Territorial Admissions Committee. It’s a recent committee and I wondered two things relative to it. The information states that it’s for application admission to NWT long-term care facilities. I wondered, first of all, if the Minister could advise what sorts of facilities are included in the long-term care facilities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to the deputy minister for that information. That’s very challenging. The whole issue is challenging, but it’s good to hear that there’s lots of work happening.

My other question has to do with the legislation and when we went through the business plans, the proposed schedule for legislation the department is considering doing in the next fiscal year is quite ambitious. I was impressed with the number of bills which presumably want to be amended and/or new bills coming forward. My question, I guess, is whether or not the department thinks they are going to be...

Thank you Mr. Chairman. Just a quick comment and that is unfortunately the answer that I expected to hear. I guess my only hope would be that if we are ever renegotiating the agreement or renewing the agreement, particularly with Nunavut, I would think if there is any opportunity to try and recoup funds that could go towards the capital costs that we have to bear, then that would be a good thing. Just a comment. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

My questions will be somewhat shorter. I had many of the same concerns as Mr. Bromley and he has asked the questions and secured the answers for me that I think I was looking for.

I am, as well, extremely concerned about the loss of the THAF funding, if that is what should transpire and I certainly hope it doesn’t. When we reviewed the business plans, there were some 21 positions which are funded by THAF and they are basic to our provision of health services primary care through nurse practitioners and midwives and so on. I was a little alarmed, though, to hear the Minister say that the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I have to thank the Minister for making my point for me. He said we have this, and then we have this, and then we have this, and then we have this. We need a coordinated plan. I would like to know from the Minister, if the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee is so coordinated, where is the plan on paper that I could get from the Minister and when can I have it? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that response, but I think he kind of made my point for me. We have a strategy. We have a plan. We have a committee. We don’t have one body, one organization, which takes everything that we are doing in terms of energy and puts it under one roof, which, as I said in my statement, directs the traffic. I think that’s something that’s necessary. I’d like to know from the Minister what sorts of Cabinet discussions have taken place in regard to the possibility of establishing something like an energy secretariat. Thank you.

I’m almost done. Mr. Speaker, we need that leader, that secretariat, so we have a common goal, so we can work cooperatively and in a coordinated manner to achieve that goal. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, after considering the budget address for awhile, I note that the 2010-11 budget does not include a coordinated NWT energy plan, and I’m disappointed in that. I may begin to sound like a broken record, and I apologize if I’m boring you, but I figure it bears repeating and I will keep harping away in the hope of a positive response eventually.

I can’t deny that this government has plans to pour, quite literally, millions of dollars into energy initiatives and projects. We heard the Finance Minister say last week that over four years we will spend $60 million...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a number of comments. Many have been mentioned already, but I will re-emphasize them with my own take, I guess.

Initially, I want to say that I totally agree with the Minister’s statement that the current spending of the Health and Social Services system is not sustainable. I’ve had concerns, I think, since I arrived here, that every year the total cost seems to go up. I do hope that over this next year it will be galvanized by the lack of THAF funding if it doesn’t come through, but I hope that the department is going to be looking at all aspects.

I think, as...