Bill Braden

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Achieving devolution and a fair share of resources revenue sharing must continue to be the top priorities of this government, but in last November, Mr. Speaker, that priority, in my opinion, took a major setback when Premier Handley and Finance Minister Roland delivered a letter -- no ordinary letter, Mr. Speaker -- to the four major producer groups in the Mackenzie Valley pipeline and TransCanada Pipelines. It was a so-called letter of comfort demanded by these stakeholders before they would proceed with the regulatory hearings now underway. The letter offered strong...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 3, 2006, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that "designated budget days" be implemented on a provisional basis; and further that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week be "designated budget days;" and further that the House shall commence sitting at 11:00 a.m. on "designated budget days;" and further that the time of adjournment on "designated budget days" shall be 6:00 p.m.; and further that notwithstanding Rule 34(6), the time allotted for...

Yes, going to be wearing out lots of running shoes here, Mr. Speaker. Is it now official GNWT policy to give letters of comfort and certainty to all resource related projects that might come up in the future before having to talk with his colleagues on the other side here? Is this going to be the way we will continue now to develop letters of comfort, letters of certainty?

I’ll be putting in a requisition for a pair of new running shoes to make sure that I can keep up with this government and this Premier on the breakneck speed in which they fail, Mr. Speaker, to consult with us. This is a consensus government.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps today is Mother’s Day here because I am so proud to recognize my mother, Esther Braden, and to tell her I love her very much. With her, Mr. Ed Jeske, a regular attendee of at least our opening days every session here in the Legislature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome Mr. Dent back to the Assembly, after doing battle with his colleagues on the federal front. I would like to ask him questions in his capacity as the Minister responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Board. In my statement earlier today, I explained the dilemma that injured workers find themselves in, because the WCB has not accepted that it should include EI remunerations in the calculation of an injured worker’s pension. Mr. Speaker, why has the WCB refused to accept multiple rulings from the independent appeals tribunal process, to include employment...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. The issue of unresolved workers’ compensation claims of injured workers has been the subject of many of my statements and questions. For some injured workers, Mr. Speaker, through our process, it has become a never-ending treadmill of appeals and systemic process. For a number of these workers, when they think they are getting ahead, wouldn’t you know it, but along comes some rule changes.

Mr. Speaker, just to explain briefly, if a worker is injured on the job, they expect to receive a disability pension, or allowance, depending on their injury...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s caution on this. I have looked into the same point in raising these questions, and the information I have is the process has actually been concluded and is something that can be looked at in this House. So I would like to continue with my questions on this point.

Mr. Speaker, some of these appeals tribunal processes are now four years old. Workers continue to be stymied by this. While the WCB Act is not specific in allowing employment insurance earnings, and it gives the board, or the tribunal, the discretion to rule on these kinds of...

I, too, would like to welcome all the youth who are here today. It is great to see people, that generation, paying attention to what is going on in here. I would very much like to welcome the folks from the other spectrum of the generation…

---Laughter

…our seniors. It is just a great pleasure to welcome my mother, Esther Braden.

---Applause

Okay. Can the Minister or his staff tell us, has this been an issue in the past? Have we had residents complain to us that they haven't had an opportunity to be heard, and that maybe due process was maybe a little rough on them? I am just trying to gauge, is this something that we should pursue, or is this something that is really inconsequential? Thank you.