Robert Hawkins

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

Mr. Speaker, as many of us know, this is approximately a 120-kilometre road which could run anywhere about a $2 million project. In speaking to some people who work for Fortune, they’ve coined it as a deal has been struck to work on a framework to do this road and that they’re planning for investment.

I’m trying to find out what has been struck in the form of a deal with Fortune Minerals in order to either build a road, lease back a road, or create a road. What is happening on this issue? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

Okay. Then earlier I had asked a question to expand on what it actually represented, and I think I understood it was, unless we were talking about two different areas, I got a $1.4 million figure and then the rest was travel and some of it was office supplies. Are we talking about all the same thing or are we talking about two different items here? I just want to first make sure we’re talking about the same item, and I’m speaking to health and social services authority administration, and then, of course, if you read the detail, it includes the funding for HSS authorities for activities...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

Sorry; calling it activity 500 doesn’t mean anything to me and I would be surprised if it means anything to anybody else, except unless you’re an accountant. I think it is important to say, on the record, as Members we don’t get allocations broke out by activity listed as their unit block, although I know from a coding point of view, when you implement it into the accounting systems, you would implement it 500 slash whatever. Just to let the Minister and the staff know, 500 doesn’t mean anything unless it’s money. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Inflation is at a three-year low. Why? Because of cheaper gas prices across Canada, everywhere but the Northwest Territories. The Canadian Consumer Price Index is saying that it is at its lowest since 2009 in January. Why? Because of gasoline prices, yet again everywhere but the NWT.

I visited the fuel pumps this week, like many Northerners, and we all continue to experience the high prices of gasoline here in the Northwest Territories. Since raising this issue almost four weeks ago, Northerners keep telling me that they feel like they’re at the mercy of the local market...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

Alright. Now, does this medical travel benefit here, adding all those numbers up, is that only reflective of what’s transferred over to Stanton or is that also in consideration to what’s farmed out to the authorities? When an individual authority needs to charge something to the medical travel budget before it gets on to the Stanton Territorial travel budget, would that be the global budget or is there a separate budget line item for all the authorities?

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

What was the reallocation? Would we find that corresponding difference somewhere else? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on a point of order. I’ve waited until today to raise the point of order because I wanted to review the previous day’s Hansard. During an exchange with the Premier regarding the courthouse, I made note that on Friday, February 22, 2013, on page 26 of the Hansard, Premier McLeod makes the following statement: “We did, as the government put it, have that project, called the NWT Law Courts Project, and we put $40 million in the capital budget in 2005-2006. Committee took it out of the budget.” There lays the point of order issue.

So I draw all Members’ attention to...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

I appreciate the reminder of where that money comes into the system and then add it to the $16 million, which brings us to the rough total of the whole program of being about $29 million. I’m, I guess, really talking about the question of for what we’re responsible. Are we within the normal budget threshold of what we’re responsible for as a government? I’m going to ask, can we separate the third-party responsibility for a second, because it seems as if that is an actual cost, and I do have a separate question for that one.

If a little kid is out playing, trips, breaks his leg and has to fly to...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

Just trying to understand, why would in-house respite be treated as a program delivery under grants and contributions? To me I think in-house respite services would be, if it’s a grant under grants and contributions, something we’d supply to some association or organization that does that. So why would we refer to it as in-house? Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 4th Session (day 13)

I appreciate that answer and, certainly, the forthrightness of it. Where does the additional money come out of? Can I get some help in the description of, sort of, connecting the dots? I mean, it must come from somewhere.