Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to comment on the state of day care in the NWT. During our discussions over the last few weeks, many Members have expressed concern about the lack of day care in our communities. Some communities are unfortunate enough to have absolutely none. There is a number of issues that plague our day cares in the NWT: low wages for workers, lack of funding for day cares, lack of adequate labour force, lack of affordable day care, staff recruitment and retention issues. The list could go on for a long time.

In the NWT, we do have programs to assist day cares...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs who well knows that we do not have a 911 service anywhere in the Northwest Territories. The Minister also knows that the chief coroner of the NWT, as early as 2001, has made recommendations that the GNWT should consider implementing a 911 service in our territory. The need is an issue of public safety and access to emergency services. Mr. Speaker, it is well known that a 911 service saves lives and the response time to accidents and tragic events is much shorter where a 911 service exists.

In...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the information from the Minister. That is more than we had previously. But I would like to ask the Minister when the Standing Committee on Social Programs can expect to receive this report.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During the 15th Assembly, the Department of Health and Social Services committed to completing a comprehensive human resource plan for the Stanton Territorial Health Authority. The development of the human resource plan was intended to be inclusive and involve input from all staff. To do this, a comprehensive statistics-based recruitment and retention survey was conducted and completed by most of the staff within the Stanton Territorial Health Authority.

To build upon the findings of the first survey, a second, more detailed survey was conducted with a smaller number of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the Premier for sharing his views and his vision in his sessional statement. At one point, he said that he believes that the 16th Assembly will be a turning point. I have to say that I agree with the Premier. I see the next decade as vital to the progress of the NWT and it is a time when the NWT will need strong leadership. I think that this Assembly is well positioned to provide that leadership.

The Premier also said that if we make the right choices and if we act together, and I agree strongly with those statements as well. It is important for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to hear the Minister say that they are ready to support the City of Yellowknife to get 911 implemented, if that is what I heard. I think that is wonderful. The Minister spoke also about the absence of infrastructure in all the communities in the NWT. That is absolutely accurate. Most of our communities can’t handle 911 service at this point in time due to technical problems with their telephone service, but I know there is at least one community that is ready for 911. In the absence of necessary infrastructure in every community, will the Minister...

Thank you again. I would like to ask the Minister, at this point now that the information from the surveys has been accumulated and drafted into some sort of an initial report, whether or not and when the Standing Committee on Social Programs can receive copies of the surveys which were sent out.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my statement earlier, I referenced the comprehensive human resources plan for Stanton Territorial Health Authority and the fact that it was supposed to be completed in the summer of 2007. My question is addressed to the Minister of Human Resources. I would want the Minister to please advise me as to the status of this particular human resource plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to have the Minister clarify for me, then, what kind of support he is referencing. Is it simply human resource support or is it actual dollars and financial resources? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to say that I think that there is a huge amount of unfairness in the way that this has proceeded. I don’t feel that players should be allowed after rules have been fully investigated, from what I understand, some time ago. The rules were changed. There was agreement among all parties that the rules should be as they were, that the players should not be able to join teams from another region. I understand the Minister’s desire to have more players than fewer players compete, but I think it is an extremely unfair process. I would like to ask the Minister...