Robert Hawkins

Statements in Debates

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

Okay. No problem. I understand accidents happen. No, I was always speaking to HSS authorities administration. Maybe, for the record, if we could get the breakdown of exactly what that is. Let’s start with that. Let’s start with the full breakdown in some detail.

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)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I know I’d like to read a motion on this page, but I think I’ll start with a question or two first. That said, the question I have is under grants and contributions to the hospital services that we provide. One of the primary funding problems that we have, and I highlighted it the other day in the opening comments, which was how we fund medical travel and physician services. I’m just wondering, would the Minister speak to that as to what type of funding model he would consider, in the context I’ve asked, the department to think about or consider or even go so far as I...

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

Is the Minister saying that just, you know, making numbers easy, $14 million is used for travel by the staff in Inuvik?

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

Nope. That will be fine for now. 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)

Then maybe, in case I missed it, where was it reallocated from?

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

Thank you to the Minister. The next question I have is about the third-party gap. Under the third-party gap – and I appreciate the deputy minister’s detail and highlight how she clarified some of that – do we find we get short-changed on any of that and, if so, could someone from the department, through the Minister obviously, provide that level of detail, what we’re left on the hook for.

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)

Thank you. Sure, if you can have an answer by 6:30, that would be good.

---Laugher

That’s fine. I was only kidding on that one. I’d be happy if they could get back as soon as possible. That would be quite helpful. Furthermore, I would also hope that they would take the guidance of maybe profiling it under a different method. It seems strange that it’s parked there.

The only thing I would ask, then I think we could probably leave this page, is why was there such a jump between the ‘12-13 mains and the revised estimates. I mean, what actually changed in the game? We went from $473,000 to $739,000...