Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In reflection of my statement and line of questioning last week in the House, the Stanton deficit is certainly a concern and great passion of mine which I fear may have gotten the best of me on that particular issue. If I offended anyone, I certainly want to make amends to the House by withdrawing any tone or individual comment that may have caused any offence. I, of course, as always, am prepared to work in the most collegial way in the House as possible and always do with that intent.

Can the Minister provide that breakdown to demonstrate that? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that clarification. One of the criticisms I have heard from some vendors out there is that they are not able to compete in a fair and open manner. The reason I was asking is this authority money, they are pointing particularly at authorities to be specific but they are also referring to the headquarters potentially as being a problem in this particular area, where they are either sole sourcing or just going south and, of course, contracts are written in such a way that it really comes down to one vendor can only supply knowing full well that, of course, medical...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess if we are on page 8-21, I would like to take the opportunity to ask another question under program delivery details. Medical equipment under $50,000 appears that the department is budgeting. It looks like a consistent budget just under a million dollars. Would the Minister help me understand this particular amount? Is it money spent under the departmental sort of as a broad spending initiative or is it actually money that is filtered down into the authorities and spent, well, for running the authorities? Is it department money or is it money further transferred...

I’m looking for the program funding. So in other words, the dollar amount. If the dollar amount, how is that particularly... How would that line item be broken out? It’s easy to say $5 million, but what does that actually interpret? Does it break off from there into further programming? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m not asking to go back, but I will provide some explanation on page 8-28. It explains what the programs are that enable individuals with special living requirements to stay in their homes, yada yada yada. I’m just curious specifically on page 8-29 how much is attributed to that specific budget line item. How is that further broken out?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to give credit where credit is due regarding BizPaL. That was an initiative put into action by, I believe, Minister Bob McLeod. I would be remiss to mention, though, it was my idea coming from this side of the House to that side, so we should share credit.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister did say the last time I brought a red tape initiative, or I should say to deal with the challenge, that he would bring it to the Refocusing Government committee and nothing happened. There was no reply. I’m just wondering how does the Minister see that we’ll address this particular...

Mr. Speaker, has the government consulted at all with small business in any form on the initiative of red tape and how the government can respond to the needs and requirements that have been created by the administrative burden through the bureaucracy in its requirement and hunger and thirst for more paper? Has the Minister engaged small business? Thank you.

Alright. Same question; let’s just insert the work administration fee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to return to a topic I have raised in this House before which continues to be of great concern to me. It’s a matter of government red tape and how frustrating and problematic it is for small business. It’s nothing but a roadblock and a burden on our industry.

Red tape restricts small business activities, creates more paperwork and leads to frustration. Of course, we all recognize the need for regulatory regulations and reporting, but there must be clear and reasonable requirements. I also empathize with small business owners and employees who must deal...