Robert Hawkins

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about a request for tender that went out to a local business. When you have a chance to read the documentation that went out for tender, there are 13 pages as the attachment of fine, detailed requests. But it’s all vague and it all points to a catalogue of a local competitor. In my Member’s statement I mentioned how I believe it’s fraught with bias and I think the only respectable thing to do today is the Minister say that she’ll withdraw this tender of goods that I’ve made aware to her and to issue a clean, clear...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures tabled Committee Report 3-16(3), Report on the Use of Laptop Computers and BlackBerry Devices, in the Legislative Assembly on February 11, 2009. This was the first report to examine a number of issues pertaining to the use of portable electronic devices by Members of the Assembly and committee staff in the performance of their duties. The report reviewed the practices in other jurisdictions as well as the purpose of portable communication devices. The report recommended that Members be allowed to use laptop computers during...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is pleased to provide a report on On-line Petitions and commends it to the House.

A petition is a formal written request from one or more people to the sovereign, the government or to Parliament. The right of the subject to petition the Monarch for redress of personal grievances has probably been exercised since Saxon times. It was recognized in the Magna Carta. The Bill of Rights of 1688 restated that right in unambiguous terms: “...it is the right of the subjects to petition the King, and all commitments and prosecutions...

Mr. Speaker, this Premier spends a long time trying to get to the issue and the issue he says, you know, we don’t want to get into the prices or discussion about the other contractor, but that’s exactly what Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services did. That’s exactly what they’re… They’re using the measuring stick of another company to say compare your prices by their order catalogue and order fairly, Mr. Speaker.

If it’s so important to do this fairly, why is Health and Social Services chasing this company now to say will you tender? My goodness, Mr. Speaker, all I’m asking for, simply, that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Listening to the Minister of Health and Social Services’ answers regarding that tender problem I talked about, she kept talking about the urgency to make sure this goes to the Beau-Del communities and I certainly wouldn’t want to see any significant delay. But, Mr. Speaker, last year we had a delay of a particular project in the community of Inuvik because, of course, we had a group, they wanted to come forward and express not being able to fully participate and yet we have a similar circumstance where we have a group, a business, that would like to fairly compete in an...

Mr. Speaker, when I spoke to this grandmother, the mother of this person who was evicted, one of the first things I wanted to know was where is the paperwork to have you evicted. Where is the paperwork that supports this business to show up at your door, throw you out on the street and say, but we have a piece of paper that says you have to leave now, and there was none. There wasn’t a single piece of paper to justify that. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of the Housing Corporation not see that as a significant issue to take action on or is he just going to wait and let the local Yellowknife...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, a single mother had been evicted from a property in one of the residences in Yellowknife Centre. They were evicted by the landlord. I guess it was under the support of the local Yellowknife Housing Authority. When you delve into this situation a little further, you find out that this single mom was evicted without any due process or official notice. Mr. Speaker, in essence, normally when you evict someone, you make sure you go to the rentals office and you get the Supreme Court order and the rental office oversees that process. It is there to help the landlord...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Whenever I, in my 10 years of politics here, whenever I heard the phrase “I hear your point” or “I take your point,” that usually tells me that someone’s going to vote against me or speak against whatever I just said. It couldn’t be clearer here today. The Minister has clearly dug in and is protecting and reaffirming a bad decision. And let’s face it, that’s exactly what it is, because it’s a sole-source, no other way around it. Why do you think so many people were looking into how does this make sense?

The Minister wants to improve this situation. As she has made it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is an honour to work with my colleague Mr. Norman Yakeleya, MLA for the Sahtu, on this motion, Mr. Speaker. It is always exciting when we can work on nation-building motions.

I believe this is a good project for the North that can help develop access and wide-ranging benefits for the whole area. Mr. Speaker, this is a significant project that could help the cost of living in the Sahtu. I think it would be one of those projects that would make the difference there. Mr. Speaker, it will also open up opportunities, as it says in the motion, to help tourism, exploration...

It’s interesting how the Minister paints the light as if it’s been fair and open. To say it went on the web page, she is correct, but the fact is that the Inuvik Health and Social Services was chasing down this… Obviously it’s clear that they were chasing down this business to participate in a public tender. But if you read the public tender, it says a specific company; we’re using their catalogue and references and numbers. How does the Department of Health and Social Services expect them to compete fairly and openly with what clearly looks like a sole-source contract dedicated to one...