Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, as always, I try to regularly make special mention that it is Red Friday.

Today I feel compelled to speak again to the issue of aftercare and follow-up for clients with addictions. I must confess that I am perplexed by the Minister’s answers to the questions earlier this week. A finer defence of the status quo I’ve never seen. As the Minister stated, individual responsibility is a major component of recovery in healing from addiction. I do not disagree with that statement. What I find puzzling is the Minister’s harsh resistance to what seems like a simple, inexpensive yet...

Mr. Speaker, this only begs one more element to this combination. Obviously it’s nice to see a Minister working with a Member and hearing the cries from this side of the House — and hasn’t forgotten us, by the way. But I’d just like the reassurance from the Minister that he will include the N.W.T. Tourism Association in on this as well as, as he had mentioned, the Minister of ITI. Finally, would he make sure I’m included in some type of release when they do this? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, about a year ago I raised the issue of the N.W.T. licence plate and how its tagline says, “Explore Canada’s Arctic.” My concern at the time with the Minister of the day was the fact that it’s not truly reflective of our Northwest Territories in present times. The good Minister of the day had agreed with me, and it sounded like the department was moving forward full steam ahead on updating the licence plate with a suggestion I brought forward, “spectacular.ca.”

My question to the Minister of Transportation is: where is this project? Assuming that it’s still going forward, when can...

Again I cite that we’re probably reading from two different two-page letters, because this letter also says that they encourage me to advise my constituents that they call, and they have to initiate some obligation on their part. So this is a one-way letter, not a two-way letter, which I talked about. Communication. Communication works both ways. The Minister keeps reaffirming, “We do this,” but their letter proves they don’t.

Would the Minister look into this program and have a chance to maybe review this letter that she’s written to me?

Mr. Speaker, I highlighted a number of good places that treat addictions, and they do follow-up. In Minnesota my office has spoken to people at Aftercare Services Agency, and they do follow-up treatments. Bellwood highlights and red-flags people that they need to continue to follow-up through phone calls.

Mr. Speaker, has Health and Social Services in any way done any type of analysis on how much good a follow-up treatment program would do for people by a mere phone call?

I’m glad the Minister understands it clearly that I in no way am suggesting to change the shape of the licence plate; it’s only the tagline. My concern is that it’s not happening soon enough. The issue, I can clearly hear, has good buy-in, but it’s not moving fast enough.

My question really is: when can we see some results of this work? When can we expect to be able to see cars driving around the Northwest Territories that say “spectacular” on the back of them? When can we see that work?

We again seem to be reading from a different letter, because the letter I have here says that they have to take individual responsibility, that it’s basically up to the individual. This one-way letter continues to cite exactly the opposite of what the Minister says; although the letter says that if they want to call, it even provides a phone number.

Would the Minister re-evaluate her department’s position on this? I’m telling you: everything she says referencing that it’s a two-way communication process is not in this letter.

Well, you know what? Maybe the problem is solved because there must be two different letters. My two-page letter says: “It is Poundmaker’s practice to make follow-up calls directly with their clients, partly as a way to evaluate their programs and the outcomes…. Community staff” — referring to the G.N.W.T. — “do not consider this follow-up call to be part of the aftercare program.”

That is exactly the opposite of what the Minister just said.

Why is the follow-up call not considered part of the aftercare program, and would this Minister stop being stubborn and say, “We’ll look into this, and we...

Can the Minister tell this House today: would a typical tourist, whether they are rubber-tire or they come here just to fish — things like that — spend more money than a business traveller? As far as I see it, a business traveller would come anyway. So who spends more money?

Mr. Speaker, it’s well known that I’m a big supporter of tourism. I can tell you honestly that I’ve got the scars to prove it.

The fact is the Territorial government, I think, is being outpaced by other territories such as the Yukon, and even Newfoundland, about promoting tourism and regional tourism. I’m not a guy who goes to bed too early at night, I should say, and sometimes at one o’clock in the morning I see these wonderful ads by Newfoundland. They really draw you in, and I can’t help but think: “Jeez, I’d love to go to Newfoundland.” And then a few minutes later there’s a Yukon ad, and...