Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, the Minister is all well and good, but we have to assume someone can still be here to be able to afford those.

This is starting to look like a tax shift, just like the Liberal plan by Dion. We’re going to tax on one end but encourage both on the other. It’s confusing, it’s ridiculous, and I think it affects the bottom line of common-sense people at their kitchen tables.

Looking at the blend between the tax initiatives and the cost of living, what effort is this Minister putting in to make sure government is functioning properly through a program review that looks at the basis of how...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe I have a point of order on the grounds of being called out as misleading the House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The public is passing judgment today, and they’re saying that these new tax initiatives are the last straw. From what I see, the motto of this Finance Minister is “tax first, ask questions later.” I encourage the Minister to listen very carefully, because you can hear the caravan of people exiting the Territories. If Mr. Miltenberger has his way, that’s what we’ll see.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve had my fill from the public, hearing their concerns about this Minister trying to fix our financial problems with more taxes. They have had it. They’re his ideas, and I’ll...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the intent of the Business Incentive Policy (BIP) has been to support the development and growth of the NWT business community and to encourage investment in the North;

AND WHEREAS northern businesses support the NWT economy by purchasing local goods and services, providing jobs and training, and reinvesting their earnings;

AND WHEREAS, in recognition of the higher costs of operating a business and developing new products in the NWT, northern businesses may need preference adjustments to compete successfully and fairly for government contracts;

AND WHEREAS the...

The issue keeps coming around to this, which is the framework. We need a framework so we have a baseline to work from. We don’t have to look too far — just a little south of us; Alberta — to see what they’re doing with their ABA, the Applied Behaviour Analysis, and their IBI, which is the Intensive Behaviour Intervention. Would the Minister work on a framework so we have a model developed on those principles?

Parents are flocking to the province of Alberta, because Alberta sees this as an issue on which they can make significant ground on this disorder by early intervention.

The issue I keep bringing up is the fact of early intervention for speech and OT therapy, which I would prefer to always fall under the umbrella of Stanton Hospital and that leadership, but it can’t happen in every case.

When I say “access private services,” I want it to be seen that I’m not advocating that’s the best or the only result. But it seems to be the only one to access extra service.

Can the Minister describe this team...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A parent told me they had to miss a number of these appointments because our services were being provided…. Our technical experts were in Nunavut, in the Kitikmeot region, fulfilling the contract they have with them.

So, Mr. Speaker, I’m not clear, because this answer seems to be evading us. Who is on the list of priorities: the Northwest Territories’ citizens for speech and OT therapy, or the Nunavut contract? Who’s the priority?

I appreciate that gracious offer about trying to work for a specific constituent or parent or family, but I’m speaking broadly about all constituents and all people of the Northwest Territories accessing this.

I’m glad the Minister mentioned the limited professionals. As I’ve been made aware about the territorial services we provide in the area of speech and OT therapy, quite often parents miss out on the opportunity to put their kids into those things because those staff are busy in Nunavut providing speech and OT therapy to their citizens.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to follow up with some oral questions regarding autism. This goes back to my Member’s statement yesterday; I talked about the concerns for children.

Now, in all fairness, while I had my Member’s statement yesterday, a letter was finally delivered to my office, so I want to make special acknowledgement because the Minister wants to be acknowledged when good work is done. The answer has finally arrived, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, reading the letter, I noticed that it talks about there being few choices for parents to access things like speech and OT...

I move that this committee recommend that the Government of the Northwest Territories respond to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight’s Report of the Review of the 2005–2006 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner by addressing the recommendations from the commissioner and the committee in its reply to the present report.