Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, what can the Minister commit to doing in this upcoming summer season? Now, we're months away but now is the time to contemplate any adjustments and changes, Mr. Speaker. And may I remind the Minister I'm saying treat it as, not defined as, in the sense of I'm not redefining the definition of what an e-scooter is. I'm saying treat it in the same manner based on the principles of safety and concerns. There are no lights on these things, speed regulations, no helmets, etcetera, etcetera, Mr. Speaker. What can the Minister commit that we will have ready so we can implement in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to return to -- I wouldn't want to say my favorite subject, but it's certainly a subject that's important to me -- e-scooters and the regulations thereof. Mr. Speaker, I e-mailed the Minister a couple months ago about an opportunity. It appeared it wasn't the right opportunity to slide it in some miscellaneous changes and as such, my worry is -- I thought we could do a quick fix by saying e-scooters or e-bikes are similar and will be treated similar as bicycles or motorcycles. There was an opportunity there.

Mr. Speaker, Quebec looks like they're banning them...

Mr. Speaker, I think it's fair to say -- at least I know I've been briefed to death on this particular initiative, I'm not speaking for the social development committee, I'll let them make their own decisions -- but that said, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister show some leadership by either, A, eliminating the hours required on qualified nurses, obviously, because they've gone to school, or immediately issue a directive to the nursing -- in writing, in other words, direction that they co-partner with either BC -- sorry, Alberta or Ontario that if nurses qualify there, by defacto they qualify...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the Minister -- I'll accept the Minister's offer.

Does the Minister know or is aware of what services are provided to people who have autism in the context of physio, speech, etcetera? Does she know -- is she aware of the resources and what is available to those parents? Thank you.

Again, thank you, Mr. Spooker. So Mr. Spooker, yesterday in my Member's statement I talked about autism. And we know that there are professionals, family members are leaving the North because of the lack of ability to either get diagnosed or services for autism, Mr. Speaker. So my questions will be targeted to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Now, the Canadian average says 2 percent of the population has autism, or I should say has been diagnosed. And if you use a standard deviation, that's 900 people in the Northwest Territories. My question is, does the health department know how...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, you know, these capital budgets are not the same as operational budgets, and I think that that's very important, you know. In other words, this is roads versus this is employee salary. It's not that simple, but in a sense, if you're trying to decide, you know, why this budget matters versus the other one, the timeliness of some of the questions -- my good colleague here next to me, he's right. Like, we don't have a lot of opportunities to say truly hold the feet of -- the government's feet, that is, to the fire with respect to important needs. I mean, the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to take a quick second to recognize Bob Overvold. He is maybe retired but he's probably not -- never been as busy as he ever has been in his life considering the consultation work is he truly doing now. So I want to thank him.

And, of course, I wish to recognize -- because I'm on my feet -- Ms. Kyla Kakfwi-Scott who happens to be the Premier's -- one of the office staff and leaders in the principal secretary's office. So thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Very quickly, I just want to stress, parents, highly educated professionals, people who have invested their life into the Northwest Territories, see better autism or disability support just across the border. It's called southern Alberta. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to meet with these parents, if I organized a meeting, to hear about their day-to-day struggle and ways to help encourage them to stay North and continue to be great partners in our communities? And not just Yellowknife, by the way, Mr. Speaker. I hear from my good colleague from the great...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Working through the the program offered under ECE is called Supporting Child Inclusion and Participation, Mr. Speaker. There are rare, and I mean exceptionally rare, program spaces for summer programs for young people who are dealing with disabilities, and today we're highlighting around autism but, I mean, all disabilities deserve their fair recognition in the sense that we need to find ways to support them all, not one over the other.

Mr. Speaker, two-week slots are rare -- rarer than hen's teeth, Mr. Speaker. So if you're lucky to get one of those, it's only for two...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Properly assessing young people with -- or diagnosing, I'll say it that way, my apologies, properly assessing the diagnosis of autism is a very specialized field, and families have told me they struggle to get a diagnosis and then therefore they do not get the supports and treatments, which early intervention would make the world of difference. Does the Minister know what the average wait time is for diagnosis of autism using a specialist? Thank you.