Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I get into my comments, I want to make a significant acknowledgement to the families that have gone through this process. They have suffered greatly, all of them. As much as the Members here have been involved, the family side of this has probably taken a significant beating that we will never understand and appreciate.

Mr. Speaker, many events have unfolded in such a way that I can’t imagine any of us would have foreseen the direction it would have taken and certainly brought us to. In all honesty, in the tone of this Assembly, you don’t hear enthusiasm. You hear...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A couple of years ago, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for the Status of Women met in Iqaluit. In the course of their discussion, they spoke to the Iqaluit City Council. They suggested the idea of naming streets to commemorate violence against women and victims.

Mr. Speaker, the mayor and council of Iqaluit thought it was such a good idea, they voted to name the road which runs by Qimaavik Women’s Shelter in Apex, Angel Street. The mayor said she would call on other Canadian capital cities to create their own Angel Street.

Last month, the capital of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really like the last comment from the Minister, which is the more seniors we can keep active, the better. Well, Mr. Speaker, there’s no proof that this isn’t just as good. So I’d like to ask the Minister, is it his individual policy position that this is not a go for seniors or is he going to work to see if he can find a way to turn this into a reality? Because it’s time we give our seniors a treat and stop tricking them. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate our thespian Minister with his full-of-interest and wonderful-sounding answer. Of course, if I had time today I’d ask @email the question about how we can do this, but the reality is the fact that we have to get the money from the Minister of Finance.

Mr. Speaker, they’re not asking for a lot of money and the government seems to keep turning around and saying it should be regional only. Mr. Speaker, what is holding this government back, from a finance point of view, of finding a way to find $50,000 in our $1.3 billion budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to a concern that several Members have raised quite well here in the House and it’s the concern for the lack of support for the Canada 55-plus Games that will be held next year in Brockville, Ontario, in 2010.

Mr. Speaker, the issue is this: our government has had a history of supporting this program in the past for $50,000 each and every second year. Mr. Speaker, the issue here is this year the government, out of the blue, has decided not to support this program. Mr. Speaker, it seems to be a bit of a shame when we have a $1.3 billion budget and...

Well, if I may offer some reality, as well, because I would like to believe the Minister that this is the only reality, but I’m not sure I’m prepared to be deluded in that direction of lack a little faith on how good these things can be.

Mr. Speaker, the last Canada 55-plus Games brought about 100 participants and about 50 percent of those participants were from the communities. So this is a territorial initiative. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance, because he talks about finances and money not being available, how much money does this government make off interest base alone...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I raised the issue, as other Members have, of our concerns about the lack of support for the seniors who wish to go to the Canada 55 Games.

Mr. Speaker, if I had time today, of course, I’d question the Minister of...Sandy Lee as Minister responsible, and, of course, that’s @email. But my questions are to Minister Miltenberger directly, because he is truly in charge of the purse strings on this initiative and I think he could bring forward some type of supp process. So, Mr. Speaker, directly to Minister Miltenberger, the...

Could this be described as an initiative that the Department of Public Works does support and do they see it as something they’ll be implementing in a timely way and what would that mean? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about a program put on by the Northern Construction Association. It’s called Certificate of Recognition, also known as COR. Mr. Speaker, it’s a very successful program across Canada and it’s about safety management. It’s also implemented by all if not most provinces, which also includes the Yukon Territory, where they work on this accreditation on public service and construction projects. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, is his department today looking into this accreditation...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You don’t get to hear this often as a Yellowknife MLA. Would the Minister of Public Works be willing to meet with me and some constituents who want this issue to be seriously considered by the Department of Public Works, because there are a lot more than five construction businesses that actually use this and certainly there are businesses in Fort Smith, Norman Wells, I believe Inuvik, as well as Yellowknife that use this? So it’s a territorial program I’d see in the long-term, but the question really is, Mr. Speaker, is the Minister willing to entertain a meeting with...