Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What would stop the Department of Health from making this a requirement of the service level agreement we do sign with these agencies to set up a phone number where people, not just a phone number, but also requiring the counsellors to do follow-up phone calls with people who have worked through a treatment process? What would stop the department from doing that? If you made it part of your agreement, perhaps it wouldn’t cost significantly anymore for asking them to do some follow-up. Thank you.

My question really wasn’t about the radio smoking cessation Quitline. It was more to draw a parallel that this government has sought out in one manner or another whether the federal government came knocking or we went looking, as a government, looking for money to help sponsor that type of addiction treatment, which I think is good value for people. But by and large, the bridge I was trying to demonstrate in the sense of comparison is the government works to provide a phone line for people to talk, or I guess, talk out their problems about why they want a cigarette and perhaps someone on the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What I mentioned about a reflective public service, I certainly wouldn’t want to say that I didn’t think Gender Equity Policy and issues need to be representative in that particular vein. So it was remiss to mention it at the time.

Mr. Speaker, my last question is that I’m very well aware that the Department of Human Resources does an exit strategy and I know, from a bit of research, there was approximately 50 of them done in the last year. I’m just curious as to what are some of the fundamentals learned by the exit strategy and what is the government doing to encourage...

Thank you. The Aboriginal Advisory Committee and the Employability Committee, have they had a chance to develop or, I should say, seek out responses from employees to ensure that the employer, which is obviously the Government of the Northwest Territories, is certainly meeting the needs of a diverse and sensitive culture that we’re trying to build in our government? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the answer from the Minister, the willingness to pursue something new and different. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister see a problem in the existing state of affairs where seniors’ issues are spread out throughout the government without a clear mandate or a coordinating role, and that being said, a Minister directly responsible for seniors and elders program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the need for an NWT charter for seniors. I think we could develop something that brings clear focus to your beliefs and principles on caring for seniors and elders. If you look across the government, there is no clear coordinating role. The Minister responsible for Seniors is title alone. There is no direct mandate to seniors and certainly as the Minister responsible for Seniors, they have no specific money targeted in order to help and support seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I think that’s a sad state of affairs, and I certainly hope...

Mr. Chairman. Perhaps the more efficient way of doing it is making it a part of our service level agreements we’ve cast in...(inaudible)...some type of compromised negotiation in having the agencies that we actually negotiate directly with. In other words, the Department of Health directly negotiates and draws up service level agreements with certain groups. Why don’t we have them have these groups phone people as part of the Aftercare Program on a contiguous basis of some manner to make sure people are on track with their programming? Would it not serve some interest in everyone’s efforts, be...

What’s stopping the department from making it part of the programming dollars we supply to various service agencies that provide addictions treatment and support for obligating them as part of the service agreement to provide an aftercare phone line for people to talk about, perhaps, the strains of fighting their addictions? If it’s good enough for Poundmaker outside of Edmonton to have a follow-up line where they actually do follow-up calls and whatnot to ensure the clientele have gone through their program so that they know they’re still supported outside once they’ve finished the program...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Recently I have inquired with the Department of Health and Social Services to follow up on some costing and focus on what we do for the Quitline and that would, of course, be people who have quit smoking. As many of us know, I guess it is a cessation phone line you call to speak about your woes of smoking cigarettes. I haven’t called it myself so I don’t specifically know, but I believe it’s set up in that context.

As I’ve learned from the Department of Health and Social Services, the response from the Minister, I believe $24,000 has gone to radio advertising and there...

It comes as no surprise of the Minister that I worry constantly about ensuring that there are fair opportunities for everyone in this regard, both Aboriginal and the disabilities community, and I’ve raised my concerns ensuring that the disabilities community certainly gets a good foothold.

With our government having, I believe, about a 0.5 percent representation, what type of awareness campaign, be it both seeking out further Aboriginal candidates for senior management positions or in the same type of gain for people with disabilities to ensure or reach out and show that this government wants...