Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t think anybody is going to argue that a driver’s performance is severely undermined while talking on the cell phone or texting. I don’t think anybody is going to argue that driving around in your Lexus, drinking coffee, chewing gum and trying to stop your two kids from fighting in the back is considered a hazard.
Mr. Speaker, the Member pointed out in his Member’s statement that I, as a Minister, was amusing or flirting with legislation. I would suggest the Member make a date in the standing committee that we are working with, to find out where this piece of legislation is at. We have done a lot of work in this area. We have done research. We presented our findings to the standing committee. They have responded to us in writing. We are considering some of their recommendations and looking at the next steps going forward. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that veiled response by the Minister of Transportation. Fortunately, I don’t chew gum so I know he wasn’t referring to me.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, the Minister did say, as a response, that they have written the committee. They have gotten a response back from committee. I have to put the question right on the appropriate person, which is the Minister of Transportation. So now they have a response back from the committee. What specifically is the Department of Transportation planning to do on this issue and what type of timing is any decision going to be reflected in? Are we going to expect any type of decision in this government’s lifetime, which has less than a year to continue to perform before the next election, or is he just going to sit on it and wait until the next government makes a decision? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if the Member had attended committee meetings he would have known that we had informed the committee that we plan to move forward on this piece of legislation. We are right now looking at as to how comprehensive a distracted driving legislation policy document should be. We are also looking at recommendations made to allow for municipalities to opt out. This is difficult, of course, so we have to look at it from a number of different assessments. However, we would like to see something in place for consideration by committee and this House sometime in the new year. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it shows you how much attention the Minister of Transportation pays to the particular issue as well as the issue of me, because I don’t even sit on that committee, so yet another distraction to the issue.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister is quite vague on details as to what exactly and when this will be coming forward. It sounds like it is a hodgepodge. Quite clearly, this could be decided quite quickly. An amendment could come forward quite quickly. This opt in and out is not a decisive way of dealing with this issue. It is clearly a sitting on the fence way of dealing with this problem.
Mr. Speaker, what clear direction is the Department of Transportation going to lead with to show the Northwest Territories citizens that it is taking this responsibility very seriously? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, obviously the Member is still not paying attention.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, we committed to committee and provided information to committee on our findings. We provided a number of options that we would like considered as we move forward. We have response from committee. We are also watching, with great interest, as Alberta unveils their legislation sometime this fall. We have also had discussions with the CCMTA, the federal body that deals with best practices. They are coming out with recommendations that we would like to compile the findings of all that information with what we have already gathered and start developing legislation along with committee members, and, of course, the Member doesn’t sit on it so we may have to make a side trip to his office to present it to him directly, but we will ensure that he is in the loop.
We will provide all that information for discussion. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have often said, the government has the D problem, the deferred, delay, deny. I can go on forever. The Minister says he is watching Alberta about what they do, but, Mr. Speaker, where is the leadership from the Department of Transportation; more specifically, the Minister? Six other provinces have initiated a process and gone forward and taken action on this particular issue, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure what the Minister is waiting for.
Mr. Speaker, when can we see a legislative proposal that actually shows that the Department of Transportation is taking this issue seriously, they are taking action on this problem and putting the primary safety of our constituents up front as opposed to a privilege which they seem to be distracted with? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if the Member hasn’t recognized yet, the leaders provide direction to our Department of Transportation. We, of course, take any issues that affect the safety of our travelling public very seriously. It is a priority. As the Member is aware, we need to engage all the Members of this House as we move forward. We have already had a motion in this House defeated. We have to make sure that it takes into consideration all the different issues that may be addressed under distracted driving. It is going to take something that we want to move forward carefully. We want to make sure we get it right. We want to make sure we have the support of the Members of this House. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t want the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources to feel passed over today. I know we can pick on the others here. My question will be for the Minister, as lead Minister of the Joint Review Panel on the report on the Mackenzie Gas Project.
Mr. Speaker, I will be tabling today the Joint Review Panel’s letter of comment on the interim response of the federal and territorial governments to the Joint Review Panel’s report putting the matter for consideration in Committee of the Whole. I don’t think it is possible to overstate the rejection in the Joint Review Panel’s clear indictment of the government’s joint interim response. The JRP summarizes its condemnation in 50 short words. “The panel has concluded that, in the absence of implementation of its recommendations and in particular those recommendations directed to the governments, the adverse impacts of this project could be significant and its contribution towards sustainability could be negative. In that event, the opportunity for the project to provide accommodation for a sustainable northern future would be lost.”
Mr. Speaker, given this clear, frank and unequivocal statement, does the government intend to radically modify its response? And I stress the word “radically.”
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member forgot unambiguous as well.
---Laughter
Anyway, Mr. Speaker, there is a process underway. The Joint Review Panel has played a key role and did the initial report. The initial response was done. We did our duty to consult, we consulted with all the aboriginal governments. We are involved. We shared that information with the Joint Review Panel. They came back with a letter. The Member is referring to it. He said he would table it later today. That letter is now being thoroughly and fully reviewed and looked at. We are still in the finalizing stage of the report and it is going to be looked at very carefully, along with the other feedback we have picked up through this process. That report will be finalized in the coming weeks.
I just want to assure the Member and the people of the Northwest Territories that the Government of the Northwest Territories takes its responsibility to speak for and protect the interests of people in the Northwest Territories very, very seriously and we are looking at this issue very closely. As I indicated in my number of press conferences since yesterday, that that report, when it comes out, will be signed off by both governments and we will be standing by that report. It has not been concluded. There’s been a key role played by the JRP and that is being factored in as we speak. Thank you.
Thank you. The Minister has once again said wait and see. I don’t accept that response. I’m trying to bring some accountability to this process, and this side of the House has consistently tried to have input into this process as a consensus government. So I’m asking again, Mr. Speaker, since the JRP has clearly rejected the response of the governments, does this government intend to radically alter its response? I need to know this from this Minister -- he’s our Minister -- does this Minister intend to radically adjust its response and commit to the full set of actions the JRP says are indispensible to preventing environmental and social disaster from this project? Thank you.
Thank you. We are looking at the report, or the response from the JRP. Ourselves, as representatives of the Government of the Northwest Territories, representing the people of the Northwest Territories, as well as the federal government, and I can indicate to the Member once again that we are hard at work looking at all that information, the response, the recommendations, issues of concern by the JRP as well as other folks. We received feedback under the agree to consult, for example, and that we will be concluding in the next few weeks the report and we will be putting that out to the public. We’ll give it to the National Energy Board, it will be posted and then we will be in a position to defend that, and that’s the process. Thank you.
Thank you. The Mackenzie Gas Project would be the biggest capital project ever mounted in Canada, huge in world scale and an environmental and economic earthquake for many of the people in the Northwest Territories. The people have spent four years and $20 million contributing to a report they presumed would address their concerns with the project, and these are people selected from the people of the NWT by the government. The Joint Review Panel produced that report with exhaustive, expert and constructive recommendations, and now our governments intend to throw that wisdom in the wastebasket. Can the Minister suggest to us why we should ever have faith, why the people of the Northwest Territories should ever have faith in governments when this is clearly against all reason?
Thank you. The Member is overdramatizing, I believe, the circumstance. We’re not throwing anything away. We have been part of this process from the start. It was agreed to many years ago, the role of the JRP, the role of the responsible Ministers, and its recommendations we are looking at and are going to respond to. I’m saying to the people of the Northwest Territories they should continue to have full trust in the Government of the Northwest Territories in this area and all the other areas that we deliver programs and work to protect and advance their interests, and this will be no different. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The time for question period has expired; however, I will allow the Member a final supplementary question. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to ask apology for leaping to conclusions on the basis of overwhelming evidence, but I will certainly hope to be proven wrong in this case and that the public can in fact have that confidence. For now though, Mr. Speaker, I want to note that the Minister, I believe, said this morning on the CBC Radio interview that it’s now up to the elected representatives of the people of the Northwest Territories, and I believe that includes 11 Members on this side of the House. So I assume that we will have some input into what we’re going to do with this situation, the panel’s rejection of the government’s response, and that we’ll get things on track.
So I’m asking the Minister, will he now act basically with the honour that the people of the Northwest Territories are expecting to support their decisions here? Thank you.
Thank you. It’s a good thing that after 15 years I’ve got a thick political hide when he says “will I now act with the honour people expect” implies that up until now I have not been, and I would, of course, take grave exception to that.
I stand here very, very committed, as I’ve indicated, to looking to the interests as a Minister of this government to people of the Northwest Territories and it’s something that consumes me just about every waking moment that I do have. Yes, we will do, and we are doing, and will continue to do all the things necessary to protect the interests of the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I have a return to a written question asked by Ms. Bisaro on May 13, 2010, regarding suggestions for funding of the proposed Supplementary Health Benefits Program.
As announced in the House on May 18, 2010, a joint working group was created to address the concerns raised and finalize the SHB Program implementation. The joint working group was composed of three Regular Members and three Cabinet Ministers, including myself as Minister of Health and Social Services. Once the report is finalized it will be shared with Cabinet and the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning.
The joint working group used the principles of consensus government to ensure that the final program is available to all residents of the Northwest Territories. The focus of the group was to define personal and employer responsibilities around uninsured health care and third-party insurance, ensure that a safety net is created for residents who accrue high health care costs, and defining catastrophic coverage.
The joint working group also gave consideration to the suggestions for efficiencies and alternate funding sources provided to the Department of Health and Social Services in the written question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Item 11, replies to opening address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Social Programs has reviewed Bill 8, Social Work Profession Act. The committee wishes to report that Bill 8, Social Work Profession Act, is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
Mr. Speaker, the committee further wishes to report that it has reviewed Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Social Assistance Act. The Standing Committee on Social Programs wishes to report Bill 4 to Committee of the Whole and recommends that it not proceed further as committee has concerns about the use of administrative reviews in providing a fair, independent and community-based appeal process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure has reviewed Bill 9, An Act to Amend the Tourism Act, and wishes to report that Bill 9 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Northwest Territorial Capital Estimates 2011-2012.
Mr. Speaker, I also wish to table the following document entitled GNWT Response to the Standing Committee on Government Operations Report 5-16(4) on the Review of the 2008-2009 Annual Report of the Human Rights Commission.
Mr. Speaker, further to Return to Written Question 13-16(5), I wish to table the following document entitled Growing Forward: Canada/Northwest Territories.
I also wish to table, Mr. Speaker, further to my Return to Written Question 14-16(5), the following two documents entitled Cost of the Mackenzie Gas Project – Investment, and Cost of Mackenzie Gas Project – Ministerial Travel. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents, the first entitled GNWT response to Motion 2-16(5), Adult Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
And the second document entitled GNWT Medical Travel Policy in response to my Return to Written Question 8-16(5). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
