Robert Hawkins

We’ve heard the Minister on the record say we’ll take care of them. We’ve had staff tell these day home operators if they were better budgeters, the changes wouldn’t be noticeable. Mr. Speaker, all we hear is that JK is optional. That’s what I’m asking.

What is the evidence that people will choose to pay $1,000 a month per child to go to the day home versus go to a free program? That’s what we want to know. Where’s this evidence in this ludicrous statement that I hear over and over again that it will be up to the parents, it’s optional? They will choose to pay rather than take the free program...

Thank you. That’s an awful tough answer to come back to because that was pretty much everything I wanted. So the only other thing that I would ask is it’s important, as I pointed out, that British Columbia links it to their driver’s licence.

So, just to be very clear, did the Minister, and I saw him nodding his head, but I’ll let him speak to this issue, that they work with the Department of Transportation to find out if this is something they could progress to merge towards a one-card system that makes sense?

The last thing, Mr. Speaker, is I’ve already got pretty much what I wanted, unless he...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, wish to welcome Byrne Richards, certainly a community advocate and very well known to all of us. I want to also use the occasion to recognize Paul McDonald. I used to be a neighbour of his, and a little known talent of his was he was a clown, so all the students there with him here today… No clowning around. He was a professional clown. He may have been both. I’ll leave it with the students to see if they can get some gags and tricks out of him, but he’s quite the gentleman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I think of fracking, I’m often reminded of the saying “you can’t unring a bell.” What that basically means is that once you’ve done it, you’ve done it and you can’t take it back. As we all have come to learn, fracking is certainly not for everyone and not for every region where it could happen. So it puts the utmost importance upon each and every one of us to consider this problem.

Do we do it right or do we do it because we want it? I think this opportunity here is the chance to do it right. Everyone knows industry’s interests and industry wouldn’t be here in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Bromley.

In the 2011 election, residents of 11 communities had only one opportunity to vote: on polling day itself. Residents of these communities are to be commended for the generally strong voter turnouts. However, all residents of the Northwest Territories should have comparable voting opportunity.

The committee requested that the CEO develop detailed recommendations for a new special voting opportunity to replace the provisions for advance polls in communities without a resident returning officer and populations of less than 500. The committee is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue I want to ask questions on today is a continuation of my Member’s statement. During my Member’s statement I talked about the importance of a health care card that is secure. I’ve promoted the idea before and I’ve done a fair bit of research recently. I found it quite interesting that British Columbia actually has a photo I.D. health care card, but what’s interesting about theirs in particular is they include their driver’s licence on it as well. It simplifies one’s life.

Ontario has been doing this since 2007 and they have many and critical pieces we don’t have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to use the opportunity here to return to a subject I’ve raised in this House before and it’s the health care card issue.

In the past I’ve raised with the Health Minister, more accurately the former Health Minister, about the need to move towards photo ID cards. As many of us will remember, and certainly want to forget, the last health care card renewal was no thrill with any standard we should be looking back to as a benchmark. So we should use this opportunity to be planning forward with better health care cards.

The recent issue of cards, I believe, are good...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I referred to health care cards that are from Ontario as well as British Columbia. I have two samples. I have one sample here from Ontario – it’s a two-page document in colour – and I have a second sample here on a document from British Columbia. All people will be able to note the details that I discussed here and certainly the aspects the Minister of Health has agreed to investigate.

Mr. Chairman, is the Minister really clear that a value on branding has not been decided nor a process has not been decided thus far? I have been led to believe that that has already been considered. So when you say these are things we still have to work out, you would think that the plan would have come to our committee and our attention just a little clearer before you ask.

Basically you are asking us to trust you. Then when you go on and you can do whatever you want, and by the time it gets back to us, that is long down the river and it’s too late to care about it.

Is the Minister very clear...

Thank you. As far as branding goes, who is paying for the implementation or how are they going to be branded? That is one of the problems that are being discussed here. I think, frankly, it’s the elephant in the room. How are they going to be branded? Are we talking about 50 percent of the screen and it stays on the brand name 20 minutes? Are we just talking about a small piece on the side like we see on a BlackBerry, et cetera, just small, little wording? What are we really talking about when we talk about branding in reflection to size and the impression it may have?

I mean, let’s be...