Robert Hawkins

If I heard the Minister correctly, he’s suggesting that the government is enforcing that the squatters now remove their recreational facility, if I may define it -- I don’t know what they put out there -- and had them go through the normal channels like everyone else. Is that the case? Because that is the concern from constituents in Yellowknife Centre who have cabins out there.

I appreciate the Minister trying to stay away from specifics as well, only to avoid identifying the individual constituents, because there are only a few. She says there’s an ongoing day-to-day process. What type of strategy does the Department of Health and Social Services have, say, for example, if we’re always sending people to Edmonton to get an ear checked, a specialized service? Or for example, if we’re always sending people to get an eye specialization. Those type of things. What type of monitoring process do we have set up and organized that someone tracks this and says, well, we’ve...

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for making sure that question will be answered as well in the coming correspondence. I just want to make sure that the Minister is well aware that this is a territorial initiative, not a Yellowknife initiative. There are companies, construction, various other types of service type industries getting on board with the Certificate of Recognition through the Territory whether they are in Hay River, Norman Wells, Inuvik. It is quite a broad program involving large and small businesses. Is the Minister aware that it is a territorial program that several...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the October session I asked questions regarding the COR program, the Certificate of Recognition to the Minister of Public Works about implementing it into the territorial tendering process which would help raise standards in our tendering process. We would also get better and more proficient tenders that proceed on our government projects. Mr. Speaker, at the time, I had inquired with the Minister if he would look into that process to see if we could move down that road as, for example, the Yukon has, and start with large projects and work our way down to the smaller...

I’ll agree with the Minister that there was an error in the report and that was the decision to transfer it back. I heard from LHO people that this was starting to straighten out. I heard from people on income support who were going through their housing application process that it made sense after a while. I heard from people administering the program that it was really at the end of the day an administration and communication problem was to make sure that the little boxes that got checked at income support fed on through to the folks at LHOs. Was the administration problem and communication...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My oral questions today will be following my Member’s statement: the issue with the fact that income support is now transferring back the administration of the housing to the LHO.

I appreciate my colleague from Hay River South who stood up to speak against it. She clearly announced this morning that she would, so I knew she’d let my statement go before hers. But one thing she didn’t talk about is the fact that we’ve got 14 positions out there that were in this original transfer and the fact that it cost $1.5 million to carry this on. So she must be in favour of the fact...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I stand today probably as the only voice for common sense to express my concern and opposition for the administration of the public housing where they’re going to switch it back from income support to the LHOs.

As we all know, there are challenges with any program, and when the government decided to switch the program over, the administration from Housing to ECE, it caused quite an uproar. Mr. Speaker, it also cost in the range of $1.5 million at that date to undertake that project. Mr. Speaker, now the government has announced, on page 14 of the budget...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I’m going to make two sets of comments. The first ones today will just be sort of a brief overview of some of the things. I’d like to offer some long-term views and I’ll offer that at our next chance on Monday, which will be the next sitting date of our House.

For starters, I’m just going to work my way through the budget. I was very pleased with the balanced approach the Minister of Finance has taken on our long-term view. I appreciate his hands at the wheel on this particular file. I know it’s tough being the Finance Minister because everybody wants...

It sounds like good news. I just wanted to be clear on the squatter problem. Does the department have a zero tolerance policy on the squatter problem? So in other words, if someone builds a cabin out there, the stance from the department is consistent and clear, which is that person or family has to remove that cabin then apply and then see where the application goes at that time. Or do they just let it sit there and say, apply, we’ll figure it out and if your application approves, we’ll leave you alone?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a couple questions for the Minister of MACA regarding the freezing of the issuing of leases out in the area of Banting and Walsh lakes. This is an issue that the Minister is quite familiar with. He had met with several members of Yellowknife to hear the concerns of our constituents about squatters out there causing problems with people with legitimate leases who have applied for them properly, waited for the approval process, and then built their recreational properties. The freezing of any potential lease applications I think is a good step. I know several...