Thank you, Mr. Speaker It is a pleasure to be back amongst my colleagues here in the House and I’m looking forward to working with all of you towards a productive fall session.
Mr. Speaker, last evening I hosted a Kam Lake constituency meeting at N.J. Macpherson School, and I’d like to thank all those that attended and shared their thoughts and concerns with me. Mr. Speaker, it is my job and responsibility as an MLA to listen to my constituents and to the public and then raise those concerns here in this House.
Mr. Speaker, I can’t possibly do justice to all the issues that were brought up last night in the two and a half minutes that I have here in my Member’s statement. I did make commitments last night to raise these issues that were brought to me and I plan on following up with all of those issues over the next three weeks.
The one area that I will pick up on today, and which dominated much of the discussion last evening, is health care, the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits and the performance of our Health and Social Services Minister. The proposed changes to supplementary health benefits are obviously of great interest and concern for many people. People want to know what recommendations the joint working group have come up with and when the public will be given an opportunity for comment. For something as important and which affects so many people, it’s understandable that the public wants to know. I want to again state that the decisions and directions the government will pursue on changes to supplementary health benefits will, unfortunately, not require a formal vote or endorsement by the majority of Members of this House. This is not what people want, nor conducive to good public government.
I made the recommendation when we last met earlier this spring that if the Health and Social Services Minister wholeheartedly believes in the proposed changes to supplementary health benefits, then why wouldn’t she and the government put the issue on the shelf for 11 more months. Mr. Speaker, the dissolution of this Assembly will take place September 2, 2011, 322 days from now. We need to make certain that we get these changes right. This should and rightfully belongs in an election campaign. It is an election issue, Mr. Speaker, and it should take place next fall.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I shouldn’t have to preach politics to other politicians, but, understandably, the Minister should go door to door in her riding, attending election forums and answer to the public and her constituents on why she continues to support changes to supplementary health benefits. Mr. Speaker, this will also give other candidates in ridings across the Territory an opportunity to state their position on proposed changes to supplementary health benefits. Then let the electorate decide who the candidates they’re willing to support will be.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be pursing this issue with great vigour over the next three weeks.
