Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During my Member’s statement I raised the issue of the liberation treatment that can offer a new hope to MS patients out there. I have written the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding this concern and I would like to call it an opportunity of hope for those people who have MS. My question to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: What is her department doing to look at this treatment? Is there any possibility that the Department of Health and Social Services can get on board and see if we can select a couple of patients to try this treatment to see...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have had a chance to take a peek at the visitors in our gallery today and I would informally call it seniors day from our mass attendance of our fine seniors. But notably, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to make special recognition of several constituents of Yellowknife Centre. That would be Vivian Squires, Ed Jeske, Blake Lyons, Ruth Spence, and David Wind. Thank you for coming today and thank you to everyone else.

Mr. Speaker, it shows you how much attention the Minister of Transportation pays to the particular issue as well as the issue of me, because I don’t even sit on that committee, so yet another distraction to the issue.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister is quite vague on details as to what exactly and when this will be coming forward. It sounds like it is a hodgepodge. Quite clearly, this could be decided quite quickly. An amendment could come forward quite quickly. This opt in and out is not a decisive way of dealing with this issue. It is clearly a sitting on the fence way of dealing with this problem...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I raised the issue yet again regarding the concern of distracted driving and the fact that we don’t have an appropriate level of legislation that reflects banning cell phones while people are driving. I continue to raise this issue with the Minister of Transportation. I am well aware that there is some discussion out there regarding maybe we will have a law, maybe we won’t have a law. Quite honestly, I am starting to wonder that perhaps maybe the Minister is waiting until either cell phones become obsolete or certainly perhaps he is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise again today to continue to raise the issue of lack of legislative guidance to regulate the usage of cell phones while people are operating vehicles. What continues to be clear is, first, this problem is not a fad. Secondly, other responsible governments across this country continue to mount active campaigns through legislation to address this problem.

I’ve been asked by many, how long does personal lifestyle continue to trump the real concerns of public safety? We must patiently await the Minister of Transportation to answer that question, the question and call...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have often said, the government has the D problem, the deferred, delay, deny. I can go on forever. The Minister says he is watching Alberta about what they do, but, Mr. Speaker, where is the leadership from the Department of Transportation; more specifically, the Minister? Six other provinces have initiated a process and gone forward and taken action on this particular issue, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure what the Minister is waiting for.

Mr. Speaker, when can we see a legislative proposal that actually shows that the Department of Transportation is taking this issue...

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that veiled response by the Minister of Transportation. Fortunately, I don’t chew gum so I know he wasn’t referring to me.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, the Minister did say, as a response, that they have written the committee. They have gotten a response back from committee. I have to put the question right on the appropriate person, which is the Minister of Transportation. So now they have a response back from the committee. What specifically is the Department of Transportation planning to do on this issue and what type of timing is any decision going to be reflected in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all due respect, those are fantastic things. I don’t mean that they aren’t, but the fact is those tend to be the end of the road decisions that people are making. The fact is they tend to be the last minute when people don’t know what to do. I guess that is sort of the whole purpose of my set of questions today here, is the fact that the awareness of these types of things seems to continue to be significantly low and how important they are cannot be magnified enough, these gifts of life that we can provide other people, whether it is blood, a kidney, a lung and...

Mr. Speaker, what type of public campaign or information awareness campaign does the GNWT provide for the citizens of the Northwest Territories here so they know they could consider this option? How are they approached on the particular subject? I have been made aware that most people don’t know anything about it. I would like to find out what the government is doing to make sure that it is available, whether people want to register for kidney donation or other types of matters, that they know where to go and what to do and how our government supports that. What does the government actually do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like my colleague Mr. Abernethy, Member for Great Slave, I, too, wish to speak to the issue of stem cell challenge clinics here in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, over the lunch hour, I actually went down with a group of friends to meet this challenge head on. Several of us wanted to ensure that we participated, because many of us believe that this is an important program that does save lives. Mr. Speaker, sadly, as we know very well, more people die waiting for a donor than receive them and we certainly wish that wasn’t the case.

Mr. Speaker, the process really...