Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've spoken and will continue to speak about accessibility of health care in the NWT. This impacts directly my constituents, your constituents, constituents up the Valley, down the Valley, all the way around, Mr. Speaker. Nobody cares more about health care than Northerners I'm sure. But that may not technically be a fact, so I don't look forward to the Premier calling me on my fact checking statement on that. Everyone cares.

Mr. Speaker, not to upset the government but, you know what, I've seen the hallmark of this Assembly so clearly it actually speaks...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's -- do we ever do any follow-up or surveys of people with respect to their stay at Larga? I've heard complaints from constituents that they don't find it very comfortable, don't find the meals, etcetera. I mean, it goes on -- I won't go on, but it goes on with a lot of further not very happy experiences. That said, do we do any surveys with our medical travel clients to get a sense of how they've enjoyed their stay or may not have enjoyed their stay and ways we can make them better? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I talked to some -- in talking with some of my constituents who have travelled to Edmonton, and they've gone to Edmonton for medical travel and they're concerned about some of the medical travel rates and the accommodations at Larga House. I'm curious on how often these programs get reviewed specific to location and the rates. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what is specifically holding them back? As I mentioned, the example I gave, a constituent went and was told they would wait two months to get a flu shot, which they could have gone to their local pharmacy and got. So that said, what is holding up this work? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on some of the questions I had asked yesterday to the Premier regarding his special envoy to Ottawa, and one of the concerns, of course, I had was about how much this costs, and I'll wait for that return, of course. That said, I didn't try to come back to the question with respect to process.

Mr. Speaker, we all hear the theme over and over again we have to work together. Well, Mr. Speaker, the Premier was very clear he made the decision, he consulted with Indigenous governments, and furthermore, he consulted with his Cabinet. Maybe he...

Mr. Speaker, the Alzheimer's Society is an organization here in the NWT that helps people facing dementia. Their team of navigators, volunteers, staff members, all share a common vision of a world without Alzheimer's or any kind of dementia. The Alzheimer's organization believes that each person living with dementia can thrive, and the society's focus is care today and a cure tomorrow.

Through dementia awareness programs and services, the Alberta-NWT society works relentlessly in their efforts to find a cure while supporting our loved ones. The Yellowknife office supports northern partnerships...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to introduce the details of why the motion is here and the dollar amounts and the process or purpose.

So, Madam Chair, it's no surprise to my colleagues that -- I should say we were all taken by surprise of the decision by Aurora College to cut the community learning centres. Now, that said, being kept in the dark is one thing but then we find out that they want to keep the money, the over $7 million appropriated towards this. That said, the program, if I understand it correctly, is intended to run until June, and, again, if I understand that correctly. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act.

Bill 11 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on November 1st, 2024 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment for review.

The standing committee held a clause-by-clause review of the bill on February 13th, 2025, with the Minister of Infrastructure. The committee moved to amend three clauses in Bill 11 during the clause-by-clause review. The Minister of Infrastructure concurred with all three amendments.

Mr...

Mr. Speaker, we often talk about not getting enough tradespeople into the program of -- into the system. Often I hear from employers who are tradespeople saying they can't afford to hire a tradesperson. It's not the subsidy program that's the problem. It's actually the bridge to the solution. In other words, they can't make enough money on the first and second year of the trades -- the apprentice and hence, you know, they don't want to take someone on because they're struggling in the management.

Mr. Speaker, is there a way to revisit this particular initiative to take some analysis as to our...

Mr. Speaker, I heard a long time ago somebody say do or do not; there is no try. So why don't we commit to doing something. We could waive the hours through some form or regulations. It's not as simple as that; I understand that. But that said, we have very smart, capable people. Would the Minister investigate the process opportunity of waiving those hours and restrictions required by the gatekeepers, our northern nursing association, that would allow these people to practice. Thank you.