David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that. I guess for me the bottom line is whether or not -- and I said this earlier -- we’ve never discussed in any meeting I’ve been in during the seven years that I’ve been here, a percentage on our expenditures as a borrowing limit. It is the first I’ve heard of it and I’d like to again ask the Minister if this Cabinet endorses 70 percent of our expenditures as a borrowing limit for this government.

Yes, that’s right. I remember Parliament does answer to the people of the Northwest Territories. This Minister and this Cabinet answer to us, we represent the people here in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I support moving forward with the AIP; I’ve said that unequivocally. I support that. What I don’t support is us seeking more ways to spend money. Mr. Speaker, I’ve gone on record as saying this before and I’ll say it again for the Minister: I’m not sure exactly what it costs to service a debt of around $500 million in a Territory of 42,000 people, but my estimate, Mr. Speaker, is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I support the motion that’s before us today for many of the reasons that have been articulated by my colleagues Mr. Bromley and Mr. Abernethy.

I, too, would just like to mention a few of the benefits of a strong respite care service in our community: integrated availability back into the community, social skills, relationship building, positive learning experiences, resiliency, helping families stay strong.

Mr. Speaker, a stated goal of this government is strong, vibrant communities. Mr. Speaker, respite care services are an integral part of us having strong, healthy...

The Minister didn’t answer the question I had. I mentioned in my previous question I found out about the funding cut at my constituency meeting. How did the Minister find out about it? Was it at her constituency meeting or did some of her staff actually tell her that this was in fact going to happen, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to pick up where my colleague Mr. Bromley left off, with some questions surrounding respite care again.

If you look at the Minister’s intentions, they are good, expanding respite care around the Territory. Mr. Speaker and Members around this room and in this House will agree that is a noble goal to expand this respite program around the Territory. It was included in the business plans that the committee went through just about a month and a half ago, Mr. Speaker, but something happened between those business plans and a decision to get rid of the funding...

Again, I appreciate the Minister’s response, but the Minister has been very evasive when it comes to actually answering questions about this funding cut. She won’t tell us who ultimately made the decision to cut the $250,000 or where the $250,000 is going and what it’s going to be spent on. Mr. Speaker, again, it’s a fairly straightforward question. Who is responsible for cutting the $250,000 out of the budget? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Monday the Minister, in response to some questions that I had for her, was using the deficit as the reason why the respite care funding cut was made. Mr. Speaker, this is a very poor excuse, as I mentioned in my statement. Nothing’s been done to address the root cause of these growing deficits in the seven years that I’ve been here, and certainly in the past three years that the Minister has been at the helm. I know in response to questions my colleague Mr. Abernethy had, the Minister said that moving forward we’re going to work out some details on getting the $250...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to again speak today about respite care and the decision to cut the $250,000 required to fund the program.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, after making a statement on respite care funding reductions, I had the opportunity to again question the Minister on how this decision was made, why this decision was made, where the money was going and ultimately who made the call to cut the funding. Judging by the response I received to my questions, the Minister seemed to have absolutely no clue in how to answer those questions about the cuts to respite care funding, except to say...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The THSSI money that the Minister talks about, somebody somewhere made the decision to spend all that money on the Foundation for Change and, Mr. Speaker, I’ve spoken many times about the government’s inability to deal with the root causes that are plaguing the health care system in the Northwest Territories, the unfunded positions and the list goes on. I’d like to ask the Minister who made the decision to spend all the money on the Foundation for Change, because that discussion never took place with the Members of this House. That was a decision by somebody else, Mr...

Yes, the Minister says $250,000, there was two years of funding, but the reality is the respite care program for $250,000 is only being funded for one year. I’d like to ask the Minister how she found out about the proposal to cut the $250,000 out of that program. Mr. Speaker, she talks about communication and coming back to the Standing Committee on Social Programs. I found out about this cut at my constituency meeting from a constituent. How did the Minister find out about it? Thank you.