Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to offer special recognition to the Minister of Education today. We completed yet another capital with nary a dollar to plan for a stand-alone campus in Yellowknife for Aurora College.

Not only is there no money for this project, there is no timeline. The Minister seems content with the perpetual rental of the college at its current location. I can remember when this was a short-term solution because we were going to build a real campus. There was some real excitement and energy behind that prospects of where we were going next with northern education at the post...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I was trying to highlight some concerns regarding some of the penalties and the reporting under our WSCC requirements. It’s my belief that the GNWT should be considered a gold standard when we consider reporting on this particular legislation, regulations and guidelines which are, in essence, the ones we drafted up. So being late is certainly no excuse. Late fees should be filed without being late. In other words, late fees shouldn’t be the disturbing trend as they are. We have dozens and dozens of incidences and, as I have highlighted...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hear the Minister and I’m not disagreeing with him, but I don’t think he’s hearing me. The issue is it’s not about what I believe, it’s what the public believes and perceives. The public is willing to pay their fair share. I’ve never heard any argument against that. The fear is that those costs will be unfairly passed on and unfairly distributed to the everyday consumer. All I’m asking is: What type of public consultation can the Minister provide some information in a form that makes sense to the general public so we can see and understand this?

I’d certainly take the information, but I think, in essence, it’s the public that’s more concerned. Not everyone has the time or energy or even interest to go to the GNWT website, let alone Transportation’s website. That’s not meant to be an insult; people are busy. The reality is that people are concerned about these tolls that are going to be coming forward and are they going to be excessively carrying the costs of the tolls. In other words, are the everyday moms and pops carrying the cost of paying for the bridge in an unfair manner? The one example provided is if it’s $250 per truckload...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When reviewing the WSCC claims cost summary, it’s become more than evident that the claim costs from 2009 tend to increase into 2010. They further increase in 2011 and they’re even at the same numbers as of September for basically on average for 2012, and 2012 is not finished.

With thousands upon hundreds of thousands of dollars going out the door because of compensation for medical, rehabilitation, pension and overall compensation, what brakes and alarms are being sounded on this particular issue? Are brakes being pulled? Are alarms going off? How is the government...

Mr. Speaker, with the alarming trends that point towards many claim costs, one particular envelope seems to be – I wouldn’t describe them as the shining example – the one we should be asking ourselves tough questions on what they are doing. The area I am speaking about is the health envelope. They represent 50 percent of the claims, 45 percent of the late filing penalty claims, as well as the overall cost to the claims under the WSCC.

With the trend of the health envelope being the worst offender on all three accounts, what is the Minister for Human Resources doing to help pull up the socks of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently wrote a request to all departments regarding a WSCC matter. In short, it was an information request based on monthly incidents and accident reports. I’m grateful that Human Resources was to coordinate the paperwork for the various departments, because without their assistance – that is the people in Human Resources – the various departments may have actually sent me the unedited information.

Now, the reason I say unedited is based on the concerns that some of the summary documents – the 195 pages I’ve poured over that were supplied to both me and Mr. Dolynny –...

There are endless examples and I won’t go through them here, but the point is that the average consumer doesn’t believe it’s going to be a wash. I appreciate the Minister feeling very confident in his belief that many of these trucking companies and businesses will eat these costs. I haven’t heard anybody who actually believes that.

What type of public consultation can the Minister of Transportation do to show people where there will be savings and where there will be potential costs on the individual consumer? That’s ultimately the issue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to follow up on some of the questions raised by Mr. Bouchard. I was thinking about this recently, and I think the timing couldn’t have been better. He brought up the concern about the Deh Cho Bridge and, certainly, the tolls. As far as the tolls are concerned, a number of people in the Yellowknife and surrounding area are concerned about how the tolls are transferred to the general public. In essence, they’re afraid that there could be an opportunity for a cash grab.

In the context that a toll may run anywhere from $250 to even $300, what type of public...

Again, one of the clear results that are being demonstrated by the trends, now I emphasize if you look at one department by itself, it may not stand out, but when you put them all together, it shows significant frequency of behaviour.

What is the Minister of Human Resources going to do on our leadership perspective to sew the departments together to ensure we are complying with, a) the filing requirements, and b) we’re working for a safer work environment, because that fight needs to be relentless? Thank you.