Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a couple of weeks we have the operations plan. Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do on the addictions issue. There was no capital investment for detox. Promised, but never delivered.

Will this Minister be working towards the operation plan in a few weeks, which is in about four weeks in early December? Will he be making a commitment in this House that he’ll work to deliver those detox beds in that plan? Otherwise, there should be a clear statement that this government is not interested in this issue.

The Minister’s binder would probably have a nice tab on this particular issue and I would encourage him to turn to that tab and read that page. Yellowknife continues to feel the cold shoulder of results and commitment by this government, especially on the issue of addictions. Northerners want addictions treatment.

Would the Minister read what the breaking binder page says on the tab and go to that tab and tell us what the Department of Health is doing on the detox issue?

This is not a new issue. I hear the Minister say he’s going to work on this. It’s well within his purview. He’s heard this concern many times. I can even hear on the microphone he’s being whispered to by somebody over there. Maybe somebody over there can help guide him with this immediate concern. I’d like immediate action.

Would the Minister be able to, at the very least, start a public campaign stressing the concern noted by the World Health Organization as well as the Skin Cancer Foundation, by stressing the risk that youth can have by doing tanning sessions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The World Health Organization has classified tanning beds as carcinogenic. The Skin Cancer Foundation qualifies it as ultraviolet tanning sessions increase a user’s chances of developing melanoma by 20 percent. Lastly, those who begin tanning before the age of 35 increase their chances of getting melanoma by almost 75 percent.

I keep raising the issue of tanning beds and the concerns on our youth. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is – this is not a new issue – what is he now going to do about this problem.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Movember is an annual month-long event including the growing of mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness about prostate cancer as well as other male cancer. The goal of Movember is to change the face of men’s health by encouraging men to get involved. Movember aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis and, certainly, effective treatments, and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths.

Besides getting annual checkups, the Movember Foundation encourages men to be aware of any family history of cancer and to adopt a healthier lifestyle...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The man that cannot be ignored up there is Mr. Anthony W.J. Whitford, who served this House and the people of the Northwest Territories for many years and I look forward to the many years ahead of us working together. Mr. Whitford, it’s great to see you, too, sir.

This is an important issue; it’s not a new issue. Northerners are in pain, Northerners are suffering, Northerners need help. What is this Minister willing to do as far as his briefing binder will tell him? Turn to that page and tell Northerners what the commitment is. Would the Minister do that for us?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to this motion. I want to acknowledge Mr. Bromley and Mr. Yakeleya for bringing this initiative forward. In my time as a legislator and certainly in my short life of being a parent these last almost 12 years, I’ve never heard anyone say my goodness, child care is so cheap I’ll take two.

Quite frankly, child care seems to be one of the most amazing cost burdens on a young family, and as said by other speakers here today, it seems to be easily one of the immediate deterrents as to why they don’t expand their family. The cost of child care is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will fully agree with the first part of his statement about the singing and going hungry, but I do not agree with the second part. The last part, I will take him up on his offer of sitting down and talking to me.

Quite frankly, I’m asking the Minister to do an evaluation of what it would cost to bring the Yellowknife rates down to what is considered normal and comparable. We have subsidized and engineered the power rates in all the communities. Yet, at the end of the day, we don’t seem to do anything for the largest community that is trying to get people here. They are...

Mr. Speaker, the average working family, or I should say the everyday working family does not believe the Minister in that regard, because if you lower the cost in every community, generally speaking of course, but you do nothing for the largest populated community, that does seem to be perceived as bias.

What is the Minister willing to do to help strike away some of that perceived bias but with this suggestion? What is stopping this government from doing an analysis in a comparative sense lowering the cost of electricity in Yellowknife in a similar fashion as he has engineered the power rates...