Robert Hawkins

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 12)

Madam Speaker, I don’t think it’s worth it.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 12)

The Minister is in possession of the same letter I am that they wrote to me on February 6th. They basically say they’re not going to meet with them. The only way they meet with them is when they bump into them at the store or on the street, if they run across them in another meeting. There is no formal commitment. If anything, there is a commitment saying we’re not interested.

So, the Minister is saying he is going to meet with them. What exactly is he going to tell the college that they’re going to do and how are they going to do it?

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 12)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Before I begin I want to make note that I am certainly sorry that my passion and frustration got ahead of me earlier. I acknowledge that and I never intended to use “vexatious” as a particular word. I didn’t plan that in any way.

What that does, though, is further stress my frustration about this whole problem. There’s an apparent wall between the board of governors at Aurora College and the students, if I may describe it as a protective barrier. The letter clearly states about process, process, process.

I guess I will say this to the Minister of Education, Culture and...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 12)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today on a point of order under Section 23(m), where a Member introduces any matter in debate that offends practice and precedents of the Assembly, and further, under Section 23(i), where a Member imputes false or hidden motives to another Member.

Madam Speaker, I waited until today to review Hansard to ensure that I brought this matter forward in a timely way, as I am doing now. On Thursday, February 13, 2014, during debate of the point of order, in Hansard on page 4, I quote Premier McLeod, who made the following remarks which were referring to me: “…the...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do appreciate the offer and certainly the public has not heard one iota that speaks to how those protocols are triggered within the system.

Is there a computerized system that pops up, alerts the administrator that files are being searched by unauthorized people, even though they are authorized on the system at large, and indicates that they’re spending time reviewing files that they shouldn’t be? Quite frankly, I think the public deserves some clarity on this issue because potentially folks could be out there searching. We don’t know if that’s the case, so I’m...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 11)

I’m not hearing anything that actually tips off the manager or the administrator of this type of private information that a particular person is spending hours, maybe even days examining individual and private files. I haven’t heard a single word built around that fact that there’s something that informs the administrator that something wrong is going on.

Would the Minister be able to speak to that issue specifically, to find out does anything address that type of problem? I’ve been informed they’re a problem, but I’m more worried about the broader protocols at this second to that issue.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Perhaps my calendar is different than the Minister’s, although he’s laughing and I think he did it as a joke and I’ll accept it in the way it was delivered with some humour. But let’s just be clear. Let’s work off the February 21st date, if that’s agreeable.

Again, I’m looking for an action plan on direction. I’m not looking for a 20-page report, I’m just looking for a couple pages that say this is how we’re strategizing and we will work toward achievables. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 11)

Madam Speaker, a commitment was made in the House about developing a communications plan to get out there, we want to promote phone numbers and access points. In my view, the consumer affairs division may not need a singular street window type of office where people can walk up to, but the fact is, it needs to be publicized in a way that people know where to bring their concerns.

Does the Minister see this as important, or should it be nestled away in some area of government that it’s kept anonymous, as it seems to be? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise again today to continue to raise the issue that Northerners want to apply on these mystery jobs. In some ways I view it more as they’re being denied the right to apply on jobs by their own government.

This is something that you would hear of in a Third World country, something maybe in a dictatorship or who knows what; I can’t describe it. But these are circumstances where people are telling me how they feel and certainly I say that I agree that how they feel is right.

In the crux of the problem we keep digging deeper, or as I said the other day, the further you...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 11)

Madam Speaker, I guess I’m going to ask the Minister to contradict me, because I’m going to say this is happening and I want him to tell me this isn’t how it happens.

Somebody can be viewing a particular file, who’s not authorized, for hours on end. They have access to the system because that’s their job.

Is there an electronic process that kicks in to tell the administrator that situation X is happening and they should evaluate it as such, or is it when he’s referring to protocols is that, well, they find out when they find out? That’s what I’m trying to ask. Is the system designed in any way...