Bob McLeod

There are a number of issues that have to be dealt with. I guess the most critical one would be for the businesses or pharmacies that dispense the drugs to have the equipment and technology to be able to utilize such a drug card.

Secondly, how do you control costs or dispensing of drugs? It would have to be a system whereby only approved drugs would be dispensed, and there would have to be some sort of cost control.

Mr. Speaker, I’m very pleased that the Member asked that question, because we always want to make sure that our employees are well treated, and we don’t want to inflict any undue hardship on our employees. I’d have to get some more detailed information from the Member, because as I understand it, employees, on a monthly basis, fill out a declaration form with the drugstore of their choice or the pharmacy of their choice, and as long as they submit this monthly form, they only get charged for 20 per cent. Having said that, I’m certainly prepared to improve the system.

I wish to table the following document, entitled 2007 Annual Report for the Public Utilities Board of the Northwest Territories.

Document 23-16(2), 2007 Annual Report for the Public Utilities Board of the Northwest Territories, tabled.

I would be pleased to do that. Also, it would help us immensely if the Member would make us aware of the job categories or positions that he had concerns with.

The departments determine the qualifications for the job.

Mr. Speaker, we can check into that right away. I understand that in the communities drugs are provided at no cost and that in the larger centres that do have pharmacies, with the forms that are submitted, they are only charged 20 per cent. So we’ll undertake to look at which employees are falling through the cracks, and also we will work towards having a more efficient system.

I’m pleased to recognize my Yellowknife South neighbour, Heather McCagg-Nystrom. Heather’s curling with the N.W.T./Yukon women’s curling team, skipped by Kerry Galusha-Koe, this week in Regina, Saskatchewan, at the Scott Tournament of Hearts. Other members of the team include Teejay Surik and Dawn Moses. Husband, Jeff, and daughters Jenna and Ava are cheering Heather and the N.W.T./Yukon team on. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I'd like to request a recorded vote. Thank you.

I would suggest that the business traveller who comes up and stays on as a tourist would probably spend more money.

Mr. Speaker, I’m very pleased to see the honourable Member come to realize the value of tourism and that he will support making more resources available to promote the Northwest Territories.

I think that as a territory we have been very successful in the last few years in increasing the level of resources available for tourism. We have been working in partnership with the N.W.T. Tourism Association. We have the Tourism 2010 Strategy. We have more than doubled the amount of money we are investing in tourism.

Working with the other two territories of Yukon and Nunavut, we established a marketing...