Bill Braden

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a bill that I am heartily speaking in favour of, heartily, heartily in favour of. The tourism industry is something that I and my family have had some connection with over a good number of years. The operators and the people who are involved in it deserve every bit of support and encouragement that we can give them. It’s a very distinct lifestyle, a very interesting and challenging way to make a living. It can be immensely satisfying but, in the meantime, there are issues that tourism entrepreneurs face that are perhaps unlike many others in the private...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Board.

Of the 39 claimants diagnosed with chronic pain, how many are now receiving permanent or temporary benefits for chronic pain?

Of the 23 injured workers who have returned to work, how many returned to the kind of work and pay that they had before being diagnosed? Do any have outstanding claims for compensation for chronic pain?

If an injured worker declines to participate in training or pain management programs, what criteria does WCB use to terminate or adjust their benefits?

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister advise on the adequacy of staffing at the North Slave Correctional Centre and the training of our staff? This is in relation to complaints and concerns that I received, Mr. Speaker, that there is often communication difficulties, inconsistency with communications, and inadequacy and shortcomings in the delivery of programs for inmates, programs relating to addictions, literacy, school and these kinds of things, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This afternoon, I would like to ask the Honourable Brendan Bell some questions regarding the performance of, and at, the North Slave Correctional Centre, and specifically regarding some of the conditions in which some inmates are managed there, Mr. Speaker. One of the things I encountered in talking to a couple of inmates was their frustration at not being able to find out just what their situation was and when they felt that there was something that they just could not get resolved, some difficulties, some discrepancy, some conflict between them and their supervisors...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. In 2004, at the insistence of this Assembly, a human resource review was undertaken at the North Slave correction facility, Mr. Speaker. This plan tells us that there is, or should, be a strong focus at the North Slave Correctional Centre shifting from a penal or punishment approach to one of healing and rehabilitation of inmates. This is a very positive step, but from some things that I’ve heard from some inmates, constituents, over the course of the past few months, from what I’ve heard, Mr. Speaker, we’re not there yet.

Mr. Speaker, it appears that adequate staffing at...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.

I guess that's enough on Internet. I take it that it's not going anywhere.

Mr. Chairman, something that is always a consideration with a bill of this nature is that there's usually a large package of regulations also bolted onto it. The legislation, of course, is the platform. The detail is implemented through regulation. I wanted to ask the Minister if he could give us some sense of when we will see the regulations that affect this new legislation completed and when this new legislation could potentially come into effect, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This has been an interesting, multi-faceted piece of legislation. It's been working its way through committee for some time now and I'm pleased to speak in favour of the bill, as a member of the standing committee. I guess in general comments, very general comments, a couple of things that the public, as consumers, may be interested in in relation to pharmacies and the business of dispensing drugs. One of the things that has been quite controversial for the last couple or three years, in Canada especially, is the industry established through Internet purchase and...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Does the new act then at least take the option or the avenue of bringing in timelines by which stakeholders or agencies are required to reply or not? Again, this is in the context that if an operator simply has the onus to show consultation and approval, we all know the difficulty of arranging meetings and getting everybody to look at the same thing at the same time. Sometimes this could take months or even a year or more for an operator to get a single approval from a single organization based on getting people together and being able to get to that level of the...

Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Committee would like to consider two bills; Bill 11, Tourism Act, and Bill 7, Pharmacy Act, in that order, Madam Chair.