Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to creating prosperity for all our citizens, and we recognize that residents of rural and remote communities have unique needs. We recognize that it can be difficult to communicate with government departments when people do not know who to contact or if they are not able to access online services.
I am pleased to announce that with the support of this Legislative Assembly, three new single-window service centres will soon open in Fort McPherson, Deline and Behchoko. These centres will help connect residents with the information and services they need, right at home in their own communities.
As Members know, these offices not only provide access to government programs and information, they also increase employment opportunities where they are most needed. These new single-window service centres will be staffed by trained half-time government service officers, recruited right from the communities they serve.
Our government service officers serve as a bridge between the government and citizens in small communities. They are true system navigators, helping residents access the services they need, Mr. Speaker. With the addition of these three new centres, we now have a total of 18 across the Northwest Territories. Since the program was launched in 2010, staff have helped residents in small communities with over 15,000 requests for assistance accessing Government of the Northwest Territories and federal government programs and services.
It is important to note, Mr. Speaker, that most of our government service officers provide direct services in their Aboriginal language. They make home visits
to help elders and other people who cannot come to the office.
Mr. Speaker, supporting all communities and regions is a priority for our government. Our commitment to them is demonstrated in programs like our single-window service centres, decentralization and regional recruitment and capacity building initiatives. We are doing our part to create sustainable, vibrant, safe communities as we work towards the vision of this Assembly.
The single-window service centres and government service officers program proves that we can provide more efficient services by creating positions in smaller communities to help residents connect with the programs and services they need. I want to thank Members for their continued support for this initiative. It is truly making a difference. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, addressing housing needs is a priority of the 17th Legislative Assembly and the NWT Housing Corporation. This year is the first year of a multi-year plan that will see considerable investments in housing infrastructure that will have significant impacts on housing in our communities.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Her Excellency Marie-Anne Coninsx, Ambassador of the European Union to Canada, and Ms. Terri-Ann S. Priel, Advisor, Political and Public Affairs, who have traveled here from their embassy in Ottawa. Welcome to the Northwest Territories.
---Applause
Members, I’d also like to draw your attention to the gallery to former Nunakput MLA Mr. Ernie Bernhardt. It’s always good to see Ernie.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Based on this government’s adventures in hydro power plant and transmission line building over the last 15 years, an unfortunate pattern is emerging. It starts with a modest community proposal to generate local hydro power. It could be Deline with their run-of-river proposal on the Bear River, Lutselk’e with their proposal for the Snowdrift, Whati on the La Martre River, or even Fort Smith’s desire to make use of wasted power on the Taltson system.
These proposals were all able to show long-term savings for both the community and this government that spends many millions subsidizing the cost of producing power with diesel generators.
Rather than listening to what the community wants, our leaders instead dream up a glorious mega project. They look at their maps and dream of power lines criss-crossing the NWT. Perhaps they look at maps of the provinces and wish they could have a power grid just like them.
Rather than face realities, they come up with a low-ball price and then proceed to spend millions of dollars on studies. A few years later, they quietly announce that the project has been shelved because it costs too much.
In Deline, the run-of-river project was transformed into 100 megawatt power for the pipeline project which went nowhere. In Lutselk’e and Fort Smith, we have Taltson hydro for the diamond mines. After investing tens of millions, the project was cancelled.
Just recently, the government announced that the Whati transmission line, which started as a modest, small hydro proposal, is cancelled because after a decade of consideration they concluded it will cost $20 million more than the original proposal. For the fourth time in Whati, we are back to square one.
Meanwhile, we have spent literally hundreds of millions of dollars subsidizing diesel power. Had we built these small hydro plants when the communities asked for them 10 or 15 years ago, we would be well on our way to having paid them off and residents and businesses would be enjoying stable or reduced power costs.
Rather than learning from this experience, we just dream bigger. We are currently spending millions studying a transmission line from Yellowknife to Saskatchewan that is estimated at $800 million, four times the cost of the Deh Cho Bridge.
Mr. Speaker, the NWT is a vast, sparsely populated territory. We need to be innovative. We need power solutions that are scaled to our communities and our geography.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
We need to be innovative and recognize our vast territory and we need power solutions that are scaled to our communities and our geography. Our communities should be adopting the cutting edge in efficient technology and renewable power production. Above all, though, both politicians and senior staff need to focus their thinking, get some hardhats, safety shoes and shovels and concentrate on building actual projects in our communities. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
MEMBER'S STATEMENT ON
WEK’EEZHII LAND AND WATER BOARD
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On March 21st of this year, Premier McLeod announced the recipient of the 2014 Council of the Federation Excellence in Water Stewardship Award for the Northwest Territories as the Wek’eezhii Land and Water Board.
The award recognizes outstanding achievement and innovative practice and leadership in the area of the water stewardship and is presented to organizations, partnerships, businesses, institutions and communities in each province and territory.
In a press release that day, Premier McLeod stated that the Wek’eezhii Land and Water Board recognition “is an excellent example of how innovative, locally focused and action-oriented programs delivered through a regional board can educate communities in water conservation and water quality protection at the local level.” High praise and well deserved, I say.
The Wek’eezhii Land and Water Board works with Tlicho communities to initiate training for chief and council members, employees, land officers and other community members, to meet the monitoring requirements of water licences for sewage discharge and solid waste facilities. The training, which includes sampling procedures and interpretation of results, has led to an increased understanding of water quality issues and other aspects of water management.
There’s more than a hint of irony about this situation. While Premier McLeod sang the praises of a hardworking, successful regional land and water board, he was well aware that a mere two weeks later, on April 1st, the effect of the implementation of the federal Bill C-15 would mean the eradication of all regional land and water boards in the NWT. Replacing them would be one board, a super-board, a move condemned by First Nations across the territory, including the Tlicho, but tacitly supported by Premier and Cabinet.
The irony is this: On the one hand the GNWT has recognized and praised the excellent work of a regional board, all the while passively accepting its imminent demise.
If the Premier and Cabinet really believe the Wek’eezhii Land and Water Board deserves the Council of the Federation award, why are they not fighting to keep the board up and running, to keep it alive so they can continue the excellent work they do at the regional level? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. June 2nd to 8th is Disability Awareness Week in Canada. It continues the tradition of National Access Awareness Week, established in 1988, to promote better community access for people with disabilities.
The impetus behind these national campaigns was Rick Hanson’s Man in Motion world tour. A Canadian icon, Rick Hanson dreamt of creating an accessible and inclusive world and finding a cure for spinal cord injury. For 26 months he wheeled over 40,000 kilometres through 34 countries. He averaged 30,000 strokes a day, through tough terrain, harsh weather, illness and injury. Through his breathtaking achievement, he defied dominant perceptions about disabled people.
The disabilities umbrella includes a diverse list of conditions: blindness, deafness, brain and spinal cord injuries, speech disorders, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, FASD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, and the list goes on.
Hundreds of my constituents are disabled in some way or another. At least four require intense, highly specialized care. As their MLA, I represent them to the best of my ability.
I am supporter of the NWT Disabilities Council that has been visibly preparing for this week’s events, including Thursday’s high tea with the Minister responsible for Persons with Disabilities and Saturday’s Grand Prix event on School Draw Avenue, a full day of races and family fun.
This organization’s mandate is to swing open the doors of access and promote full citizenship through equality, inclusion and participation. This organization performs a range of extremely valuable services, yet it’s chronically underfunded. In fact, despite a widespread perception that the GNWT delivers effective public programs for disabled persons, that isn’t the reality.
Comparatively little government spending is allocated for the needs of disabled persons. I believe it’s time for a designated territorial facility for disabled persons. Ideally, such a facility would serve as a resource hub and provide state-of-the-art rehabilitation services. It would also be warm and inviting, a place that feels like a home.
I will have questions later for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the heels of Mr. Nadli’s speech about disabilities, I have to bring forward an issue that’s in the community of Hay River. It has to do with the handi-van services that have been provided by the Hay River Council for People with Disabilities and the fact that the last few years they’ve been striving to get private funding to operate this service. This service is being used by seniors and people with disabilities to get around the community, to get to job interviews, to get groceries and to actually get to medical appointments. Because of the increased costs, the council has had difficulty and had to basically eliminate all the transportation that the handi-van currently is providing. They continue to provide some services to some of their members that are in schooling, but they’ve eliminated that to seniors and to people with disabilities.
It’s a vital part of our community. It’s a vital need that’s in our community, and we’ve had lots of constituents that have come forward to us not only in Hay River but in other ridings such as Enterprise and K’atlodeeche that have used this service in the past to get around and to have for people that are seniors that need a facility or a vehicle that actually has wheelchair accessibility, that is easy to get into and use. We’ve also asked the Minister of Health for information on funding, and he has also indicated to us that it would be the municipality’s issue. The difficulty is that this is an issue that has to do with specific individuals, seniors and people with disabilities. It’s not public transportation. It’s specific to a group of people that need it mainly because of their medical condition.
I will have questions for the Minister of Health and the GNWT, I guess. I am going to specify my questions to Health because I think that’s where the dollars should be coming from, but it is GNWT-wide. There may be a couple of departments that have that issue, but I need the GNWT to get together and find a solution to assist and fund the handi-van services in Hay River.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday as we were recognizing our seniors, I was thinking, as our population ages and the number of travelling Canadians continues to increase, it is important that our government be attentive to travellers’ rights, especially our seniors and elders who now enjoy more mobility options than ever.
As a government, we have many layers of legislation, regulation and policies that make our approach to dealing with travellers either rewarding or problematic. The purpose of my statement today is to be sensitive to the needs of our travelling seniors and reveal some inconsistent standards and how the GNWT is rated versus other Canadian jurisdictions. To assist me, I will be using the Canadian Traveller’s Report Card, which is an evaluation tool published every two to three years by the Canadian Snowbird Association.
Admittedly, the NWT did rather well in this report card as we actually scored an over B rating, and I have to applaud we scored a best practice of an A-plus for their access to emergency health coverage when travelling. However, we failed in three other categories with a C rating.
One area was on the preservation of health coverage for frequent travellers, and the recommendation to correct this is to allow international travel for up to seven months or six months with unlimited short-term trips anywhere in the world while still maintaining health benefits.
Another low rating was under the access to prescription drugs for use during travel. With the GNWT only covering a three-month supply of medication, the recommendation is to cover the cost of a supply of prescription medication equal to the permitted absence from the territory.
Finally, the last of the low ratings was on the availability of government information. Apparently, the GNWT contains very limited health-related information or details for travellers on such issues as residency requirements and out-of-country reimbursement. The recommendation is to create a comprehensive brochure of medication or medical information and prescription policy for such travellers.
Clearly, with some minor encouragement from the Department of Health and Social Services, our jurisdiction could join the likes of the Yukon who has the best grade in the country at A-minus. My challenge now is to the leadership of the Department of Health to assess the patchwork needed to address these simple policy fixes. We have the choice for clear and fair government policies so we can make travelling pleasant, safe and a rewarding experience for our seniors and our elders. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government has been talking about attracting more people to live in the Northwest Territories and encouraging people who already live here to stay. I know that we are open to ideas to do this. I have a suggestion to offer. Let’s be a little more flexible in providing health coverage to people who like to travel outside of the territory. In turn, that may keep them living in the Northwest Territories and not moving out to some other province that allows them to travel for a longer period of time during the year.
For those people who do long-term travelling in the winter, we call them snowbirds. It is also worth noting here that our snowbirds are people with the means to travel and who are usually healthy enough to travel. Right now we require our residents to remain in the Northwest Territories for at least six months of the year to maintain their health care coverage. I propose we change that requirement to allow snowbirds to travel for seven months of year, which would then require them to remain in the Northwest Territories for five months a year.
There are major advantages to doing this: maintaining our population, our federal transfer payments and the number of tax filers that we have. A less stringent residency requirement for health coverage will encourage seniors who might like a warmer climate to keep their residency in the Territories and travel in the winter. Some might even be discouraged from moving to Alberta, which presently requires you to remain in the province for six months of the year. So we would have an advantage over our southern neighbour in that regard.
Most importantly, on top of wanting people to move to the Territories, we want our visiting residents to stay. A one-month change in their residency requirement for health coverage is not going to cost us very much. It’s probably far less than the benefits that having them here brings to our territory.
This is not a radical idea. Ontario requires its residents to be in province for 153 days per year, which is basically five months. It is the same in British Columbia, who also has five months. That’s two of the three most populous provinces in Canada. A resident of Newfoundland only has to be present for four months of the year to keep their health care coverage.
Let us follow the lead of these enlightened provinces. Let’s be among the first. Let’s do our homework and let’s get this done during the life of this Assembly. Let’s figure out how much it will cost us and what the benefits are of keeping these Northerners, who like to travel in the South, living in our territory. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be speaking about the highways in Nahendeh and I would also urge the Department of Transportation to bring their hardhats, shovels and safety shoes. There are three major arteries in Fort Simpson. My favourite, which is Highway No. 7, Highway No. 1 from Fort Simpson to Wrigley as well as Highway No. 1 from Fort Simpson towards Hay River, and there’s access roads that go into Jean Marie and Nahanni Butte as well.
I’m pleased to see that there are investments in this infrastructure this coming year, but I do want to stress the importance of completion of the reconstruction, repairs and dust control plans for 2014.
I’m very pleased that Highway No. 7 did not have any serious issues this spring, but Highway No. 1 between Fort Simpson and Wrigley had severe problems. It was muddy and there was lots of rutting. So I’ll be asking the Minister what the plans are to fix that portion of the highway this year.
Also, during my last visit of Jean Marie, they wanted to look at improving that access road. In fact, they want to upgrade it from an access road to an all-season road.
Overall, the residents in the communities want me to emphasize the importance of continued maintenance. We make our living using the highway system is what constituents tell me. So I’ll be asking the Minister of Transportation questions at the appropriate time and get answers on the highway system repairs in Nahendeh. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today students from across the Northwest Territories in grades 9 to 12 as well as post-secondary apprentices will be travelling to Toronto to compete in the Skills Canada National Competition from June 4th to the 7th where they will showcase their skills and challenge themselves and others to new heights of success.
Skills Canada NWT is a non-profit dedicated to promoting careers in skilled trades and technology to northern youth since 1999. This is done by organizing programs and events each year for youth and supporting schools for school programs throughout the NWT such as regional and territorial skills competitions. All participants who are travelling to the nationals have to in fact win a gold medal in their respective trade at both the regional and territorial level.
This program has many benefits, such benefits as more skilled northern workers, reducing the number of unemployed people throughout the Northwest Territories as well as instilling confidence in our youth, resulting in youth making more positive choices and better life decisions. There are also benefits of fewer crimes and misdemeanors because these youth are doing what they love, they’re doing what they like and something that they enjoy and are good at. More importantly, these youth become role models for their peers and they also become role models for the next generation.
I know that this government does a great deal in supporting this program and the GNWT does give a very healthy contribution to this program, but I think this government can do a little bit more in the sense of just taking it to the next step. Look outside the box, think outside the box and look at how we can start supporting all these gold medal winners in the Northwest Territories that are going to nationals, looking at what their skills and trades are, investing in them, supporting them so that they can become our future workforce in the NWT. That way we don’t have to rely on bringing southern workers up into the NWT as well as we might be able to meet our socio-economic agreements of a northern workforce and also assist our NWT industries to find well-trained, well-prepared young people who can help business grow and help our economy grow.
At this time I would just like to thank all those who are participating and thank all those who are supporting the NWT skills trade participants and Team NWT going to the nationals. I wish them the best of luck, and hopefully you can bring a couple of gold medals back from the nationals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, along with my honourable colleague Mr. Menicoche, mentioned to the Department of Transportation and I also want to ask the Minister, once you’ve finished your discussions in Nahendeh, if they could bring their plans and their hardhats and their monies up to the Sahtu. Oh yes, we still need to build a highway in the Sahtu, so we would like to join that discussion one day down the road.
The first highway in the North was built in 1943-44 from Norman Wells to the Yukon border, famously known as the Canol Road. It was built by 30,000 men and women in 13 months. Although with it, they built a pipeline and a telephone line, and they were guided by the Aboriginal people.
It was built because the U.S. government said we’re going to build this road, you’re either with us or not. It has to be built for national security. They needed the Sahtu oil for a greater cause.
Only after 20 years did we see the construction of the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Alberta up north in the ‘50s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Even in 2010 we saw construction of the highway in the Northwest Territories, and now we’re waiting for ours in the Sahtu region.
In the ‘70s the model Hire North was used to construct the highway. It went as far as Wrigley. Today we’re seeing the extension of the Dempster Highway, known as the Inuvik-Tuk highway. From what we saw, it’s a great success for the people in that area.
We are waiting now to see the beginning of the Mackenzie Valley Highway from Wrigley north. Let me explain in three points why we need to keep this portion of this lifelong dream of Diefenbaker’s Roads to Resources alive and become a reality.
The training opportunities. We have a high rate of graduates in the Sahtu who are ready to work. We have a high rate of youth in our region that are ready to work. Our needs assessment research shows that we have a high number – close to 300 people – willing to work together, ready to work.
Employment versus unemployment.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
In our region, Norman Wells has the highest rate of employment and the lowest rate of unemployment because they’re working. We have a high rate in the other communities of unemployment. Income assistance is showing that we’re spending millions of dollars to support people in subsidy programs. Businesses are ready. We have now 28 Aboriginal businesses compared to 60 in 2006.
Building infrastructure in the Northwest Territories is key. We have unprecedented industrial interest in the Sahtu region. As Mr. Ramsay said, two to three billion barrels of oil is ready to be taken out. Communities want to build. They’re looking for partnerships. The high cost of living – just take a look at our airline tickets to bring a family of five out of Tulita, Good Hope or Deline to Yellowknife. We want to build our region. We want to be in the driver’s seat. Truly, the Road to Resources is obtainable. Let’s stop talking and starting walking, I mean building.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let’s talk about tourism in the Northwest Territories. More so, let’s talk about how the tourists travel to our smaller communities in the North.
Year round we have people from the South and all over the world attracted to the Northwest Territories, to the Mackenzie Delta and to the Beaufort communities. Some fly into Inuvik, but the majority of them drive the ever popular Dempster Highway. Yes, let’s talk about the Dempster Highway and the need for more funding to make this a safer highway.
I’d like the Minister to address why the lack of funding. Where did the funding go to finish off the widening that was promised? The widening project has obviously made a big change in how we see the Dempster. For one, it’s a lot safer. Wider roads mean easier to drive and allows for safe passing of oncoming traffic. You know the amount of vehicles that come up the highway hauling food, dry goods, freight, fuel, propane and now LNG, and the list goes on. We need to maintain this highway to ensure zero accidents.
Another thing, this is seasonal work of which our local people rely on to earn extra money to sustain living in our communities. My constituency is expecting work to continue this summer. Let’s make this work happen for them. Let’s reassure them that construction on the Dempster will continue. I ask the Minister again to take another look at the widening portion of the Dempster Highway and re-implement this back into this year’s plans.
Another thing is resurfacing. Our highway needs to be resurfaced from Fort McPherson to kilometre 173. Again, in order to reassure a safer highway, we need safer driving conditions.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What would this session be without a little bit of discussion on the topic of jobs? Jobs matter. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. If you live in Tulita, Aklavik, Ulukhaktok or even Yellowknife, jobs matter. Jobs are what help people get along. We need jobs to pay our rent, to take care of our kids, to put food on our table. Jobs matter to everyone. Recently something drew my attention to this problem and I’m trying to figure out what we are doing about this. Well, recently the government was touting, once again, that it has been nominated and found as one of Canada’s top employers. It was a top employer in 2013 and yet again now it claims another title of being a top employer for young people and a diverse employer. But we’ll get to the details of that challenge here in a minute.
The GNWT is a good employer and I think on many occasions it needs to be recognized for its hard work, but are we focusing our administration on the award and getting nominated or are we focusing on the true problems of unemployment rates that are the highest in the land? In small communities, when you have 70 percent unemployment, what are we doing about these things?
Look across the land and you hear nobody saying, “Oh boy, the cost of living, if it would only go up, we’re getting by so easy.” I haven’t heard that at all. Quite the contrary. I hear about the cost of living as a significant problem whether you live in Aklavik, Tulita, or you live anywhere. It is a problem.
I hear from my colleagues about job opportunities and how few they are, while we’re worried about nominating ourselves about what a great job we’re doing. Are we actually getting the job done? I’m constantly getting calls at my office from summer students still scrambling and looking for any opportunity of experience, let alone just paid.
So, back to the top employer issue. Does it seem realistic that the GNWT would pay $795 to self-nominate itself to a specialized marketing company in order to get an award that we don’t really know what it’s about? I called this company and they wouldn’t tell me anything. I asked them how do you apply and they said, well, you pay almost $800 to get on their list and they evaluate. I asked them, what do you evaluate it against? They said, well, go to our website and that will tell you who applies because they’re the winners.
It’s kind of a clandestine sort of approach on meeting the bottom line. We must focus our efforts on what’s important: getting jobs into small communities, getting jobs for Northerners. I think it’s now time to return to the discussion about those 1,050 unfilled jobs with that job snapshot. Let’s talk about those 571 jobs that this government is supposed to be pursuing and let’s see what else we can do for those summer students that so desperately need the money and the opportunity. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a couple of Pages from Frame Lake who have been working here last week and this week. I believe they’re both in the House today. Gabriel Layden and Isaac Macpherson. I would like to thank them for their service and thank all Pages for their service for the last couple weeks. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Weledeh constituent Ernie Bernhardt. I’m assuming he’s still up there. Great to see him in the House today. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to once again recognize Hannah Allan. She’s a Page here from Yellowknife Centre. She’s just over there on the side. I recognized her last week, but I believe she was on duty somewhere else. I’d like her to take a moment so she can stand up and be recognized and thank her for her duties here. Also, I may remind her, many Pages have become MLAs and even Clerks in this Assembly, so you never know where you can end up. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I’d like to welcome Mr. Ernie Bernhardt back into the House today. I said earlier, it’s always good to see you in the House, Ernie. I’d like to welcome Calysta Lucas-Kudlak from Sachs Harbour and Ms. Cheyenne Gully, also from Sachs, paging for us here today from my riding in Nunakput.
I’d like to welcome our guests here that just walked in. Thanks for taking an interest in our proceedings here today. Thank you and welcome to the Assembly.
The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to recognize a constituent of Yellowknife South, Lona Hegeman. With her is Dr. Neal Hegeman and his wife, Sandy, and daughters Melinda and Katrina. Welcome to our Legislative Assembly. Thank you.
