Robert Hawkins

I’m kind of glad we’re not hurting the Minister’s feelings there as he made a special note here. It’s good to see that he’s sensitive and actually cares about particular issues, for a change at least.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario is leading the way on a number of initiatives of improving services and always with a keen eye to ensure that the services are marked in a way that provides the best quality response times and actions for the constituents, which would be the Ontario people. Mr. Speaker, I would hope the Northwest Territories government has the same type of attitude. The Ontario government has...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to mark this occasion by recognizing Ms. Emma Ouellette, who is paging in this Assembly while we’re in our final sitting. To make special note, she is the daughter of Darrin Ouellette, who once was a table officer who now works for the Assembly as the director of corporate services. Welcome.

I have to admit that the Department of Transportation or even this Minister is ahead in some of his ideas. I won’t take that as a criticism. I will say that’s very unusual and welcome to hear that.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, one of the big comments -- and I’ll give the credit to the Department of Transportation -- was to put a TV in there to keep people occupied while they are waiting for service. One of the observations being made is it takes too long to go through, because the average everyday person doesn’t have 15 minutes to run in, because it’s not 15 minutes. It turns into almost an hour. I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask questions directed to the Minister of Transportation. In my Member’s statement today, Mr. Speaker, I talked about better customer service approach on the issuing of things like licence plate stickers, driver’s abstracts, and that’s really what I’m after here, is maybe moving government business forward with an eye to servicing the public a little better.

I want to put on the record, of course, that this is in no way a criticism of the public service of who’s providing this service. It’s just the way it seems to work in this type of area.

Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When someone works at one of the government customer service counters, they are providing an essential service as a front-line worker. At times, I’m sure, regardless of how hard they work and how hard they try, there are many days they think it’s probably a thankless job. I’m thankful and grateful that many of them keep coming back day after day and providing the essential services that we need so much. So when I come across a matter like I’m going to raise today, I want to raise it with both concern and respect for the job that our public service staff are certainly...

Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to report on its review of Bill 10, Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act, and commends it to the House.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to report on its review of Bill 10, Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act. The bill would establish a Heritage Fund for the present and future residents of the Northwest Territories, to extend the benefit of today’s economic development and resource development for future generations.

The bill sets up the framework for investing funds allocated to it by the Legislative...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recall, if memory serves me correctly, that this was an important issue when our present Health Minister wasn’t the Health Minister. Now that he’s Health Minister, I’m sure the theocrats have educated him about the ins and outs. All I’m asking for today is, quite simply, would the Minister be willing to take this on as an initiative that we should be looking into and seeing how we can address it and give it it’s fair due and consideration whereas we can get a sense of costing it out and let that sit before committee, let that sit before the Assembly, and let it decide...

I’m well aware that the Minister himself has had problems with this particular policy, and as I understand it, he’s even had constituents in his own riding who have had trouble by this very, I would say, cold and unwelcoming policy.

Is the Minister of Health and Social Services willing to look and see if there are ways to amend it? Because as we heard through Mrs. Groenewegen’s question regarding healthy lifestyle, healthy choices, and the Minister of Health and Social Services underscored what an important and dominant theme that is for both he and governments, so what would the Minister be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 8, oral questions, on the agenda so I can have a question today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Abernethy.

Ensuring that Section 96 (as well as Sections 89, 97 and 100, as originally proposed) of the Financial Administration Act applies to the Heritage Fund, providing for properly detailed annual reports, tabled in the House;

Extending the “no withdrawal” period from 10 years to 20 years;

Providing for a committee review of the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act every 10 years, and determining that the first review should include:

An examination of the operation of the act;

Recommendations respecting how to obtain public input on the...