Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's probably rare I get to make a statement like this. I'm sure we will all agree in this House that health care dollars are precious. It's very difficult to find agreement on anything some days, but I think we might be able to agree on that.

Mr. Speaker, the questions I'll be raising today are to the health care Minister, clearly, regarding the security of health care cards. And that's always been something of interest of mine because if I recall during one of my previous assemblies, we had more health care cards out there than citizens. What an interesting paradox it...

Mr. Speaker, the -- you know, kudos to the paying for the full capital budget but keep in mind that, Mr. Speaker, that only works when you don't have the ability to borrow money anymore. So in other words, you can only spend the money you have. So the finance Minister's made it clear we have no more room on our borrowing.

So, Mr. Speaker, I guess I'm really getting at, at the end of the day here, my question is what is the Minister doing from a public discussion point of view about tabling ideas, how we can rework governments better and find more efficient ways to attract both a better...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Similarly, I want to say, and independently -- I want to stress that as well. I've come to similar conclusions that I'm worried about the overall foundation we're building. First of all, we didn't -- Members at large weren't involved in the edict issued over a year ago saying this is how we're going to control and manage our finances, and now we hear how close we are to our debt wall. It sends a weird message back to we have spending freezes, but it doesn't sound like we have the authorities to follow through on them. They're just suggestions. It's not that I don't...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we heard in the House, I believe yesterday, that the Minister said that if the sup passes and the budget passes, we will be $3.2 million away from our debt wall if I heard her correctly and, of course, that is if I have my math correct. Mr. Speaker, that actually puts us at 99.8 percent of our overall debt limit. I'm asking the Minister of Finance: what is she doing to find new ways to operate budget -- sorry, operate the fiscal management of the Assembly and the territory at large that we can find ways to save money immediately such as let people work from...

Thank you. I'm sure we're going to find a middle here. And, again, I credit the competencies of the department so I have every belief that they'll provide responsible, useable information, and I want them to know I -- the next question is that -- what does the person do to action their claim?

So back to I know a few circumstances -- I don't need to go through every scenario but, you know, people are owed a lot of money for a lot of months. They call, nothing happens, and all of a sudden, you know -- yeah, like, why do we need political intervention for what should be an internal problem? And...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister capturing the whole ECE budget, and I'm not sure there was a page left unspoken about. My question was nowhere near about any of -- most of that. I wouldn't say all of it, but I will say most of it. My question is really about the income support program specifically targeting to help individuals get through the system. They are data entry folks, not social workers. I've used the generic phrase navigator. Perhaps that's my fault, and I acknowledge that. Essentially I'm trying to say is what type of support does the income assistance offices, the...

Thank you. Can the Minister provide sort of like a bar graph on the size of claims; so in other words, a bar saying we have 300 employees who have claimed under a hundred dollars; we have had, say, 40 percent claimed by, you know, from $100 to $500, and 10 percent -- you know, however the math works in a bar graph. And the reason I say that is because to make sure it's not perceived as a useless exercise, which I'm not in favour of sending the department on wild goose chases just for my entertainment.

What I'm hearing from constituents and GNWT employees is we have several thousand dollars...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think I believe the Minister sent me a draft version or some type of copy of the agreement. She nodded, and I remember going through it. I asked, or I'm curious, on cancellation provisions knowing -- my question's going towards cancellation provisions. So in other words, is there a way that the Minister can cancel this initiative so we can actually go out and find a partner who can actually bring real opportunity to support housing for much needed people and families. Thank you.

Thank you. So that's the answer I was looking for, is 30 days.

Are you able to tell me through some type of analysis -- first, my anecdote, obviously, unless you brought it -- I doubt it, but I'd be pleased if you did -- how often is that 30-day threshold of the standard is run over; in other words more than 30 days? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement today I talked about trying to find ways to empower people to -- actually, you know what, Mr. Speaker, I'll redirect my question if you give me the moment to leave. I would like to now point my question to the Minister of housing, and my question was a year ago I had asked her about how we could uplift housing opportunities, such as the Rockhill Apartment, and work with private industry to find new ways and innovative ways to provide social housing for people, innovative for business, and get people living a much healthier lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker...