Robert Hawkins

What’s stopping the department from making it part of the programming dollars we supply to various service agencies that provide addictions treatment and support for obligating them as part of the service agreement to provide an aftercare phone line for people to talk about, perhaps, the strains of fighting their addictions? If it’s good enough for Poundmaker outside of Edmonton to have a follow-up line where they actually do follow-up calls and whatnot to ensure the clientele have gone through their program so that they know they’re still supported outside once they’ve finished the program...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Recently I have inquired with the Department of Health and Social Services to follow up on some costing and focus on what we do for the Quitline and that would, of course, be people who have quit smoking. As many of us know, I guess it is a cessation phone line you call to speak about your woes of smoking cigarettes. I haven’t called it myself so I don’t specifically know, but I believe it’s set up in that context.

As I’ve learned from the Department of Health and Social Services, the response from the Minister, I believe $24,000 has gone to radio advertising and there...

It comes as no surprise of the Minister that I worry constantly about ensuring that there are fair opportunities for everyone in this regard, both Aboriginal and the disabilities community, and I’ve raised my concerns ensuring that the disabilities community certainly gets a good foothold.

With our government having, I believe, about a 0.5 percent representation, what type of awareness campaign, be it both seeking out further Aboriginal candidates for senior management positions or in the same type of gain for people with disabilities to ensure or reach out and show that this government wants...

Mr. Chairman, I guess by and large the concern from a number of constituents is that once the rally cry was heard and government decided to respond in what I would define as a favourable way, the public that spoke to me is the concern that they have disappeared on this particular issue and they are worried about what government may be fine tuning without sort of a public progress report of some sort. It is great that the Minister is speaking to the standing committee. I am aware of that, but from a public point of view, it is kind of scary to know that the government is taking care of you. It...

I would ask if the Minister could clarify that officially, because I think the last time I spoke to the deputy it was the reverse problem, which is the FMB’s authority -- to make sure it’s very clear -- restricts the use of those allocations in any other form but in the prescribed form.

Setting that aside with very little time left on the clock, I’ve raised, oddly enough in the same sort of circumstance, a timing that is raised with the deputy minister about what work is being done of rolling in physician costs into the departmental costs. One of the problems I’ve noticed is juggling those...

I don’t think that actually answered the question, which is I thought the policy restricted physician money being reallocated to, for example, NP money. So in other words, I can understand the FMB policy to ensure that if you didn’t hire a physician, you don’t run out and buy a whole whack of new laptops and photocopiers and fancy pens and whatnot. That would be a poor use of human resource money that’s meant for a job related to human resource function in that regard.

I understood it as the FMB policy did not allow you to reallocate to do the same type of similar service, if I may describe it...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page 8-21 I just wanted to follow up with a couple of questions I noted under physicians inside the NWT and, as well, sort of cost to our health service centres. One of the particular issues I’ve noticed, and I’ve talked to the Minister and deputy minister, is the cost to health centres in how they distribute or reallocate funds; namely doctors’ cost and if we have a particular case where a health centre, or I should call it a health authority, where they are unable to find a doctor, they have excess funds sitting around, but they’re not allowed to hire NPs in the...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5 on the orders of the day, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be directed to the Minister of ITI, the Honourable Bob McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, since the launch of the Made in the NWT Program, many northern manufacturers have told me they appreciated the leadership of the government in recognizing and supporting local goods being produced here in the North and they believe it’s been an incredible step forward in recognition of the work they do. Mr. Speaker, I truly believe that the Made in the NWT label gives Northerners a chance to buy local products that have been produced locally with a great sense of pride and value...

In the context of this is what we’ll be doing or is it in the context of a progress report working to the final fine-tuning position? Thank you.