Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, late this summer, somebody in Yellowknife came to me and said they were having difficulty providing service, and they provide medical supplies in the Northwest Territories. They were concerned that they were getting the cold shoulder. So on September 21st, I wrote a letter to the Minister of Health and Social Services asking four brief and simple questions. As of today, I haven’t had any response from this Minster. Before I put my questions to him, I have to point out that it’s these types of businesses who are asked to support the hospital and the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m concerned that there’s no backup plan if the pipeline doesn’t go through. Can the Premier tell me what will happen to this investment if the pipeline doesn’t go ahead? Will we have any long-term plan for the benefits that we’ve been studying or thinking about?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that the Premier’s favourite subjects are devolution, hydro and, definitely, pipeline. So my questions that I’d like to ask today to the Premier are what actions this government will be taking, if any, to prevent Imperial Oil from backing out or postponing the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Committee would like to consider Bill 9 and Bill 3, in that order today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This person in Yellowknife who does the medical supply business says they never seem to know or see any purchase tenders go out in the newspaper. Again, they come from the perspective that they would just like a fair opportunity to apply and bid on these contracts, but they feel that they continually get the cold shoulder. What’s the policy on public tenders, or do you just go straight to sole source in the South? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Referring to my Member’s statement, I pointed out that there were more than 30 positions that have mushroomed all about pipeline preparedness. So millions of dollars are being poured into this. What, if any, is the strategy for the long term with respect to these pipeline preparedness positions, keeping in mind that this pipeline may never go through? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Premier tell us today how much money, to date, this government has spent on pipeline preparedness? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the answer by the Minister. So a person can still sue if that’s the appropriate mechanism.

My next question is regarding the transferring of unpaid services to property taxes. It was I who asked if parking tickets would apply. The other day it was okay and today it isn’t. The Minister had said it’s only applicable to services. Could I get the definition of how the Minister sees what services are? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that commitment from the Minister, because a little logo program doesn’t need a lot of administration and a long time research, so I look forward to his response on that when he gets back to me. Would he also look towards making a web site? B.C. has a “Made in B.C.” program and apparently it’s hugely accepted and seen as a special launch to promote B.C. manufactured products. Would he look at creating or maybe implementing something similar to the B.C. “Made in B.C.” program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the honourable Member for mentioning that we don’t have a strategy. That’s something I’d like to see us work on and maybe see if we can get a commitment from the Minister, in the long run, to do that. But I don’t think a northern strategy necessarily has to be where we have to start. It could be where we’re going. I believe very strongly that the northern manufacturers need to be supported and this government needs to get behind them. I’ll speak to something that’s probably near and dear to the Speaker’s heart, which is that I bought windows from Arctic...