Bob Bromley
Statements in Debates
I didn’t hear the timing of the three months’ work that’s happening now or the future, but I think the committee would be interested in how that pilot goes. What is the schedule? I think we heard in the Department of Health that the plan is to incorporate all of the health authorities. Is that true for all authorities in Education and so on? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, thanks again to the Minister’s commitment. I appreciate that. I do note that this year’s travel budget projections are slightly down from last year’s, in line with what the Minister was saying. The Minister will acknowledge that $17 million in annual travel costs is a big bill for half of our civil service. Even an efficiency of 10 percent would free up major dollars for other needs. Some departments seem to have extraordinarily high travel costs, in comparison to others, with no obvious explanation. We need a challenge and verification method for ensuring travel is being...
Presumably they used to cover that from their own funds and they did their own thing. Are the chargebacks, do we know, covering these new costs as we take them over, or are we having to fill in a bit? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions follow up on my Member’s statement earlier today with questions to the Minister of Finance. Obviously, not every employee travels. The $7,000 per person is an average travel cost across the entire government, but for every employee who never travels, there is another average employee spending double that, or $14,000, and every one of them has a boss who is signing a travel authorization.
Does the process for putting forward an approval request for travel include the requirement to demonstrate that alternatives to travel have been considered and found...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to just ask a little bit about our TSC services for authorities. I noticed that this division provides services to the Deh Cho, Sahtu, and Stanton Territorial Health Authorities. First of all, how long have we provided that service to them? Thank you.
That is positive news. But, of course, I think the committee is looking to fully address all of the gaps. What would it take? What is left to be done? These are the sorts of things that will be useful in discussions to come.
That sounds like a good response. Can the Minister confirm that that addresses all of the recommendations of Phase 3 based on the recent review?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Active living and physical activity levels is one area where we in the North are challenged. I think there needs to be some additional attention. It’s demonstrated that is so important, even during early childhood to the brain development, but also for health throughout life. The committee has repeatedly asked, as one specific example, for some form of milk subsidy. We, apparently, haven’t done that because parents need to take responsibility for raising their own children. Our employment rates are as low as 30 or 40 percent in some of our communities. This is not a...
Thank you, Madam Chair. I also have a motion and I move that this committee strongly recommends that the government take immediate steps to accelerate the implementation of year two actions identified in the Mental Health and Addictions Plan that will lead to a more robust mental health and addictions network better able to support the timely establishment of specialized wellness courts. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.
The attached Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, AANDC, map for the Giant Mine Remediation Project shows the location of underground arsenic chambers and project drill holes. The attached GNWT Department of Transportation map, “Proposed Ingraham Trail Realignment,” shows the route of the road realignment.
What is the purpose of the realignment and what issues or concerns is the highway being realigned to address?
How was the road alignment route chosen so as not to interfere with the...