Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, March 2, 2015, I will move that Bill 48, An Act to Amend the Mental Health Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, that’s okay if the government doesn’t intend to get to it because they’re either not interested or too busy, but I’m not uninterested, and I’m certainly not too busy to bring up good ideas for the department to get to work on.

As such, would it not make sense for the government to consider putting a bit of fee, a reward or a bit of bounty on every one of these barrels?

By way of example, and I know the Minister likes examples, so for example, if we put a $100 fee or reward or return price on every one of those barrels, we could fund that out of our environmental recycling fund. That way...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday in Committee of the Whole it was discussed about the fuel barrels left throughout the Northwest Territories. I’d like to ask the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, does the department know how many barrels there are? I’m not speaking to every single barrel, but I’m speaking to the large volume of barrels we estimate are out there and the general location of the larger cache of barrels. I mean, we can always understand there will be one or two here and there, and those are difficult to track unless you stumble upon them.

I guess the question is: How...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

First off I want to say, I dare not argue with the Minister’s keen eye and good observation of the assessment of the work being done here. I certainly like to agree when he’s right.

My final question is: Would the Minister be willing to devote a bit of time and policy development in his department to take some assessment of this particular potential? We have people travelling on the land in different forms, be it on the lakes and rivers through their boats, be it on skidoos and other modes of transportation, and what a great way to reward people on their long trips out on the land by putting a...

What is the plan of Environment and Natural Resources to address this environmental liability that has been left on the people of the Northwest Territories to carry this burden and to be financially responsible for it? In other words, does the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have any type of plan in place or plan for the future to address this liability of these fuel barrels sitting there on the land?

I appreciate the Minister’s quick reply of saying nothing. It hasn’t said anything to the fact of what is the Minister going to do. That is the issue.

What is the Minister going to do to update the policy to ensure the public’s safety matters enough that we’re going to protect them with the right information so they know and can be vigilant knowing a predator is out there stalking them? I want to hear what the Minister is going to do, not pass it on to somebody else.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, there was a convicted sex offender – that’s a predator, the way I view it – on the loose in Yellowknife, and they were on the loose in Yellowknife without the public’s knowledge. That means women, children and even some men were at risk while this predator stalked their next prey. It was my understanding that the police knew that this person was on the prowl and that this predator was looking for their next victim, but the public was not informed.

My question for the Minister of Justice is: When does the public’s interest start to matter enough that they are...

It’s completely fine. I didn’t spell it out. I was just more talking about community access programs. I’m just trying to find a way to help small NGOs, as a matter of fact, or those types of organizations that try to work with the communities, and maybe NGO is the right descriptor we should use in this particular case.

Does the Minister see some ability there for them to apply for things like community access vans in order to help the folks such as I mentioned, seniors and those in the disabled community to be more involved in community initiatives? I had a great conversation with a resident of...

I appreciate that. That will make things most helpful.

Just changing gears here on a particular matter, I was speaking to some folks in Hay River and I brought this up with the Department of Health the other day. I think it sits under this particular operation, community operations, but that said, if the department feels the need to direct me to another page, I’m happy to wait as well.

That said, the issue was about a community access van and sometimes the challenge, of course, is being able to afford to purchase one. Some of the smaller communities have to raise money for a long time in order...