Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think Mr. Voytilla started to answer the questions that I had on his last answer. He pointed out the $2.8 million where the rising costs went to $3.9 million. I’m just trying to get a sense of…Well, it’s a significant increase and I guess I wonder, does our 2006-2007 budget address some of these shortfalls? I mean, in essence are we under funding this sort of policy and premium at this time and will we be challenged with a new supp before us sometime in the new budget year? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Page 12, Health and Social Services, operations expenditures, health services programs, not previously authorized, $716,000, community health programs, $752,000, total department, $1.468 million. Mr. Braden, please.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Ms. Lee, anything further?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while reducing the taxes to small business, again I say, a darn good thing, but, Mr. Speaker, we have to make a solid point on this. You have to be getting contracts in order to have something to deduct in order to make that two percent reduction worth anything.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t have to go through the statistics I said the other day, as well as just earlier, that the Minister does monitor through the registry of the sole sourcing and the sourcing that goes south at 92 percent for Stanton. Would the Minister consider options such as maybe replacing the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today will be for the Minister of Industry, Tourist and Investment. This morning I received an e-mail regarding the potential dropping of the BIP, Mr. Speaker, and it appears several small businesses are concerned, in the e-mail that I received. It looks like it may be replaced by a two percent reduction, from this e-mail that I have before me. So, Mr. Speaker, my question to the Minister is, how is this idea being floated out to northern businesses about the potential dropping of the BIP and replacing it with a small two percent reduction...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I respectfully think that the Minister missed the point on the sole sourcing, because what I am saying is 92 percent of the business in Stanton Territorial Hospital went south. That took away any opportunity that these northern businesses had to tender or the opportunity to tender, I should say, on those contracts. That just flew right over them, Mr. Speaker. That is why I drew that comparison. Yes, BIP doesn’t apply to that, but BIP is about establishing solid grounds where northern businesses can be competitive. Mr. Speaker, I still go back to what I said on the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I'll definitely say anything that helps small business is certainly a good step. But, Mr. Speaker, there is a concern out there that this dropping of the BIP may be steamrolled and consultation may be just for formality. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to point out a couple of things. The Minister's tabled documents in this House have pointed out that Health and Social Services sole sources 77 percent of their contracts. A letter from Minister Miltenberger, which I tabled in this House, pointed out that 92 percent of their business at Stanton Territorial Hospital goes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During AOC committee’s pre-budget consultation last year, an issue came up across the NWT and it was the need for more relevant programming in schools for our northern students. This includes northern aboriginal language, culture, land claim agreements, traditional skills and history of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, this only makes sense that our youth be taught, in a coordinated way, our culture, history and current events of the North that they live in. Learning about southern Canada and other parts of the globe is very important too, Mr. Speaker, but it should not take such...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My comments will be around sort of the global perspective at this time. I’m personally concerned about focus. I’ve brought up, on a number of times, my personal concern that the Housing Corporation has an information systems program to do housing maintenance. I’ve said a number of times, for example, that this is the type of program that could be bought off the shelf at a large computer store. I’ve raised this concern a number of times because I’m concerned that we’re worried about inputting data and whatnot into programs when we should be handing our employees...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of ITI could let me know what is the problem of possibly just calling up the president of that particular diamond mine that we are referring to and asking what the problem is. We shouldn’t be choking our local diamond mines with the facts that you can buy diamonds in Antwerp cheaper than you can buy 300 kilometres north. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister look at placing a phone call so we can giddy-up on this problem and make sure we solve it quicker, rather than later? Thank you.