Robert Hawkins

I actually support the principle of fluoridation so it’s not a question of mine, but it is driven by a constituent concern, and I think it comes up every couple of years, so it’s always good to remind ourselves of this. Fluoridation is known as a potential carcinogenic element that we are putting into our water, but that said, it’s not as if we don’t know that. I guess in some ways, how do we communicate its risks and gains? I know the dental industry strongly supports that, fluoridation in our water, and that is part of the reason why I certainly support it. But that said, how do we...

Mr. Speaker, I want to know the nature of this discussion. Is he going to call them? Is he going to talk to them and say, “Hey, how ya doing?” I want to know if he’s going to take the public’s interest first, or is he going to protect the institution?

I have great respect for the RCMP. It’s not about that. Every one of those folks in red serge knows that I proudly believe in the work that they do. I also believe equally in the public’s safety.

So, I want to hear that the Minister is going to bring them this issue and provide them some instruction that we need to ensure the public’s safety...

Well, it took five questions to get to the point of saying he will have a discussion if the Member asks for a discussion.

So, the question for the Minister this time is: What is the Minister going to do to talk to the RCMP about updating their policy about informing the public about a predator on the loose? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, what’s the point of having a Minister if the Minister just says we’ll leave it up to the RCMP? Maybe the Minister can describe his accountability line with the RCMP when we work to ensure that our public safety is put first.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not hearing anything from that last answer that specifically points to what they’re doing. The Minister said there are so many initiatives. Name clearly one initiative that is engaged with the students to find out what’s important to them to encourage them to proceed towards graduation.

This is such an important thing that our students get a graduation certificate, because their future counts on it. We can only go backwards so far and hope and dream and pray and plead with them that they graduate, but we must get them involved in this solution.

Name one clear thing that the...

The Minister just said he would hope for 80 percent. Well, actually, I hope we have 100 percent graduation rates. Unlike the Minister had just said, I hope that every child has the future and that they work through graduation. You can’t get a job with the military or the RCMP these days that people used to go through with grades 10, 11 and 12. You need a minimum of Grade 12.

The specific question to the Minister of Education is: What incentives are put in through the education program to encourage our youth to fulfil their obligation by getting through the education system and all the way to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Minister for that because this lack of safety trend is quite alarming and it’s not just about one facility, it’s about all our territorial staff. I’m going to quote Minister Abernethy’s comment the other day, “Our staff are the most valuable resources. They are the backbone of our system and we need to ensure that.” I want to make sure that the Minister is very clear on exactly what he’s going to do and when we’re going to do it, because I don’t want to wait for yet another incident to happen for anyone to be standing by and saying I told you so. We...

With this recent trend of incidents at Stanton or even downtown in some of our offices or anywhere else, for that matter, there’s been a bit of a trend. Has this not stimulated the need for this type of discussion to ensure that our employees are safe, and as such, what about the government taking initiative on doing an assessment to ensure our staff are not only safe but have the proper resources at their beck and call as and when necessary?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess Minister Beaulieu and I will share recognition of constituent Cheryl Mandeville who actually lives in Yellowknife Centre but is from Fort Res, so we’ll share the constituent.

As my colleagues Mr. Dolynny, Mr. Ramsay, Mr. Moses and Mr. McLeod, I too wish to recognize Malcolm Austin. The Austin family has been going through a terrible challenge and I think they deserve to be recognized for their strength and I admire very much how they’ve come together for this fight. I also recognize how much this community has come together to help support them. I was at the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it’s really important to express how important this issue is, I guess I’d say it that way. This is really a hard, a long path that has finally come to fruition and I am certainly excited to see it happen for the people of the Sahtu. The Deline Self-Government Agreement has my support and my heartfelt congratulations for the many hours, many days, many years that the people have struggled through to bring this together to where it is today.

Their future is in their hands right where it belongs. They will join other governments such as the Tlicho Government who we...