Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaking to the cost of living, if there was one reason to consider on that level, the cost of living is certainly not something to brag about in the Northwest Territories. Adding the service fee to an important product such as milk seems to be a bit of a shame. I wish the government from ENR had seen that this does not help people in that form. I realize it’s a noble cause, trying to bring the containers back for recycling and I think that’s important, but to see that they’re going to keep it on such a critical product that’s so important to the health of people, I...

The Minister knows I respect him very much, but I think he’s missing the point that I’m after. I don’t mean this in a mean way, but the reality of our funding agreements and our budget are tied around federal grants. Those federal grants are tied specifically to population and growth. So 75 percent of our budget plus or minus is based on federal grants. At $22,000 per person, that’s a lot of money. A hundred people in the Northwest Territories could mean over $2 million of just federal money, not talking about tax, not talking about what they bring. I’m only asking the Minister if he would...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I was raising the issue of finding ways to attract businesses to the North, to create investment opportunities for all. My questions will be directed to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Today I’d like to ask him, as my first question, what programs and services does his department offer that target specifically to attracting businesses to relocate in the North, to be established in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 8 on the Order Paper.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister straying from the real point of the whole discussion here, which is the fact that we need a program to help attract business to invest in the Northwest Territories. That is where our population is sort of sprung off or where the opportunity lies. Would the Minister consider establishing some sort of task force program that reaches out into industry to bring industry here in the Northwest Territories as I talked about in my Member’s statement? Whether it’s call centres or attracting new business and whatnot, there are so many opportunities I don...

Well, I’m really sorry that the Minister of ITI only heard that, because that’s not what I said. I suggested perhaps taxation is the right approach. I’m not necessarily sure. This government has foregone many taxes on the diamond mines as they were established and started producing. It’s not unusual for this government to find creative ways. What I’m really asking the Minister is if he can show me and explain to this House what programs we offer to attract business and investment in the Northwest Territories. If we don’t have a specific program targeted at that focus, would he consider...

The ones with the shoehorn of course don’t feel shoehorned. Try being on the side of the shoehorn, not the ones with it. The reality is the Minister is blaming Members of the House -- this side of the House, we have to be very clear -- for not supporting that group of people who don’t have benefits. This Minister immediately could pass a ministerial directive that says this number of people need to be covered and this is how much it costs. How much money would it be to provide coverage to this mysterious group of people, as well as how many people? They can’t seem to answer that. Can the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The manifesto is crystal clear. The Health Minister’s ambition to trim health benefits is obvious. Raising the cost of living for our constituents is obvious. Creating consultation that appears more like shoehorning the public into a direction by their design is certainly clear.

Can the Minister of Health and Social Services explain to me how this does not look like a predetermined process that has a predetermined, scripted outcome?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to express my grave concerns about the actions of the Health Minister with her decision to release information to the public in the context of public consultation about the changes to supplementary health benefits.

Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents say it looks like it’s already a done deal. I have reviewed the material on the Health and Social Services website, and I’ve had feedback from my constituents. If anyone has read the documents, you would know there seems to be many assumptions and leading information that relates to the direction of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yet again the side of this House that has the shoehorn seems to be proceeding with blinders. They have no idea how much this will cost to cover this group that is mysteriously not covered. It doesn’t sound like they even have a clue how many people need to be covered. Will this Minister commit, before any decision is made, that we will identify the costs associated with this and with the number of people who need this assistance? Because we could do it immediately, we could provide support if the Minister could provide that cost, which she refuses to.