Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the attitude the Minister is carrying here today to ensure that customer service is kept at a high standard, and his approach is to move the issues forward so we can provide better quality service.

Mr. Speaker, the last question is built around timing, which is when can the public see any type of movement forward on this particular issue, as well as where can the everyday citizen provide some input on new suggestions and on these concepts? The Minister says a 21-minute waiting time in the room and I think he said a nine-minute waiting time with the actual...

I’m kind of glad we’re not hurting the Minister’s feelings there as he made a special note here. It’s good to see that he’s sensitive and actually cares about particular issues, for a change at least.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario is leading the way on a number of initiatives of improving services and always with a keen eye to ensure that the services are marked in a way that provides the best quality response times and actions for the constituents, which would be the Ontario people. Mr. Speaker, I would hope the Northwest Territories government has the same type of attitude. The Ontario government has...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to mark this occasion by recognizing Ms. Emma Ouellette, who is paging in this Assembly while we’re in our final sitting. To make special note, she is the daughter of Darrin Ouellette, who once was a table officer who now works for the Assembly as the director of corporate services. Welcome.

I have to admit that the Department of Transportation or even this Minister is ahead in some of his ideas. I won’t take that as a criticism. I will say that’s very unusual and welcome to hear that.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, one of the big comments -- and I’ll give the credit to the Department of Transportation -- was to put a TV in there to keep people occupied while they are waiting for service. One of the observations being made is it takes too long to go through, because the average everyday person doesn’t have 15 minutes to run in, because it’s not 15 minutes. It turns into almost an hour. I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask questions directed to the Minister of Transportation. In my Member’s statement today, Mr. Speaker, I talked about better customer service approach on the issuing of things like licence plate stickers, driver’s abstracts, and that’s really what I’m after here, is maybe moving government business forward with an eye to servicing the public a little better.

I want to put on the record, of course, that this is in no way a criticism of the public service of who’s providing this service. It’s just the way it seems to work in this type of area.

Mr. Speaker...

I’m very aware of people who have met tragic ends outside of regional municipalities, be it large communities or small communities. I can think of one particular case where one lady fell through the ice on a skidoo. The access to emergency services is very important. I’m not asking the Minister to solve all the world’s problems, although that would certainly be nice, but I’m asking him to investigate and use this opportunity to investigate developing some type of program that can offer assistance. Because when people are in jeopardy on the land, whether they’re skidooing, hunting, or visiting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your anticipation that I would want to have an oral question today. My question today will be directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding the concerns that I raised in my Member’s statement today, which is the lack of emergency services provided to people on the land or even at lodges who may be seriously injured.

Mr. Speaker, the direct question to the Minister on this particular subject is: what is he doing to fix this policy so that we do not have a serious and significant gap that our citizens are left fending for themselves when their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a few members in the gallery at this time. I think they’re still up there. First of all, I recognize my constituency assistant who is a constituent of Yellowknife Centre and that would be Maud Robinson-Spence. As well as, I think, flanked somewhere up there I am recognized not as the MLA but also as the father; my two children are up there somewhere: McKinley Hawkins and Hudson Hawkins. Thank you.

Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to report on its review of Bill 10, Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act, and commends it to the House.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to report on its review of Bill 10, Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act. The bill would establish a Heritage Fund for the present and future residents of the Northwest Territories, to extend the benefit of today’s economic development and resource development for future generations.

The bill sets up the framework for investing funds allocated to it by the Legislative...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recall, if memory serves me correctly, that this was an important issue when our present Health Minister wasn’t the Health Minister. Now that he’s Health Minister, I’m sure the theocrats have educated him about the ins and outs. All I’m asking for today is, quite simply, would the Minister be willing to take this on as an initiative that we should be looking into and seeing how we can address it and give it it’s fair due and consideration whereas we can get a sense of costing it out and let that sit before committee, let that sit before the Assembly, and let it decide...