Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, the Minister I believe last week, in response to one of my questions, said medical travel is under review. I’m just wondering what is specifically “under review.” We’ve even got a letter that had been sent not that long ago to our offices that said it’s being reviewed. So what type of review process is medical travel under at this time, and is the Medical Travel Policy posted for all who wish to see it on either a website or some type of government access? Thank you.

How many positions have been identified through this process that should, in our government’s view, rightly belong here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 6, recognition of visitors in the gallery.

---Unanimous consent granted.

I appreciate that answer. I’m noticing it a little bit myself. People will start sending large attachments. I mean, we’re starting to see reports. I mean, there’s been discussion by this House. I think this House, the Assembly is trying to lead by example, where we keep more documents in electronic form rather than paper form. Things of that nature, and I see that challenge sort of coming up. I’m just wondering how the TSC is responding to the fact that, you know, I can open up my e-mail any day of the week and there are several attachments of three, four or five megabytes each and, you know...

I know, of course, every fiscal dollar is an important fiscal dollar that we have and it’s important to use it wisely. Has the Department of Public Works considered the potential opening up of the Bellanca Building in the next year, year and a half, to consider it in the context of would it suit their needs as opposed to building a new building for general purpose office space? Has that consideration or discussion happened at all?

I’m not speaking in the sense of I don’t want investment in our territorial economy; I’m just concerned of the market disruption this will play. One of the things the...

In the market disruption study process, Mr. Guy has mentioned it had been done over the last fiscal year. Obviously it’s pretty recent, it sounds. As many people would know, the Bellanca Building is coming to a point here very shortly that it will be empty and I’m just wondering, was that building taken into consideration, knowing that that building will be empty in about a year, year and a half. Was that considered in the market disruption study? Thank you.

How far along is this general purpose office space? How far along is it within the system? Has a particular space -- and when I say “space,” I mean property, obviously -- been identified at this particular time and, if so, how large is that particular space? Thank you.

Thank you for that. Through that planning of your general office space, as you’ve pointed out for the record there, what type of work has been done to avoid market disruption? Has a study gone on and is that available for Members to take into consideration? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple areas I want to talk to today. The first one, of course, is Public Works taking back the utilities to track them. I support this initiative. I think consolidation in the sense of one billing process, one group organizing this and being able to track it and monitor it, and certainly hopefully someday understand it will be a useful step I think for us to get a grip on what we are using as far as utilities are concerned.

The only concern I have with this particular issue -- and I like to think that because it’s at the beginning we will certainly have a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk about SCAN, that’s Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. Mr. Speaker, a couple of years ago I raised this issue as a way and a means to deal with drug dealers in our communities. Mr. Speaker, I felt very strongly at the time that it is a way that our government can help support our government officials to help push back on the drug community.

Mr. Speaker, this is legislation that’s found in other places across Canada. It’s found in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, even the Yukon, Mr. Speaker. It works in the Yukon by showing that...