David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been a Member of this House for almost three years and I continue to enjoy the opportunity and privilege to stand in this Legislature and represent the constituents of the riding of Kam Lake, the city of Yellowknife and this territory. I take my job and this position very seriously.

Yesterday during question period, while my colleague Ms. Lee was questioning the Minister of Health and Social Services and this was in response to an off the record comment I had made that the Minister of Health and Social Services should perhaps ask his colleague Mr. Dent about what...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today on a point of privilege. Yesterday in the House I clearly heard and saw the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger, threaten me and members of my family. I feel that my privileges have been breached because all Members have the right to sit in this Legislature and carry out their duties free from threats, intimidation, obstruction or interference. The Minister’s words and gestures, in my mind, constituted a threat to my wife and my brother’s livelihood. He pointed his finger squarely in my direction like this and said quite clearly,...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again I will get back to this. I think that the Premier and this Cabinet are eroding the responsibility that they have to the residents of the Northwest Territories by not having one Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. I am not saying that the Minister can’t do the job or his work ethic or anything like that. What I am saying is that we need one Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. He shouldn’t be saddled when other Ministers don’t have as much of a workload. That is what I am getting at. I want to ask the Premier, if...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t know why we continue to put our dollars at risk while we wait for a decision from the federal government. That’s for certain.

The other thing I want to ask the Premier is what exactly are the other costs that are associated? If you are saying that it’s $100,000 in interest, I can see a loan guarantee of $3.55 million costing much, much more than $100,000. What is going to be the final tab on the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and what is it going to cost the residents of the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it speaks volumes about the government’s outlook on health and social services here in the Northwest Territories when we spend 30 percent of our budget in an area like health and social services and we don’t have one Minister looking after it. I think that is appalling. It should just be completely unacceptable that a Minister can hold a portfolio of the environment in addition to something as important and as critical as health and social services in our territory. It behoves me as to how this could be allowed to happen, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to ask the Minister, when exactly can we expect a report or a status report on where this work is at? I thought I heard him say two weeks, but what are we going to get in two weeks? This is something that needs urgent, urgent action; tomorrow. There is going to be a major incident at this hospital, whether it's with an employee or whether it's with a client and it's going to happen if we don't do something about it. So I'd like to ask the Minister when. Thank you.

Yes, thank you. It’s under section 23(i). I believe the Minister was imputing false or hidden motives for my comments here in the House and I take great exception to that. My wife is a nurse at Stanton Territorial Hospital. I am very proud of the job she does there and, in fact, proud of the job that all the health care professionals that we have here in the Northwest Territories do. For the Minister to make comments like that, I take great exception to them. Mr. Speaker, this isn’t the last you will hear from me on that issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister had the opportunity to attend my constituency meeting two weeks ago, he'd understand that the scenarios and the level of concern at Stanton Hospital is, in fact, probably worse than it was in 2001, 2002, and something, Mr. Speaker, needs to be done. I'd like to ask the Minister, there's been some talk of a staffing review. We did an operational review in 2002. Recently, in April of this year, we've gone and done another staffing review of the same facility. I'm just wondering where exactly is this phantom staffing review. I've heard...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to stand on a point of order. I think I clearly heard the Minister of Health and Social Services threaten my wife. She’s an employee at Stanton Territorial Hospital. She wasn’t one of the 17 health care professionals that showed up at my constituency meeting with these concerns nor was she one of the seven that showed up at my colleague Ms. Lee’s constituency meeting, Mr. Speaker. I take great exception to the Minister threatening me and I think I heard him say my brother, who used to work at North Slave Correctional Centre. Mr. Speaker, I will go back...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again I will get back to this. I think that the Premier and this Cabinet are eroding the responsibility that they have to the residents of the Northwest Territories by not having one Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. I am not saying that the Minister can’t do the job or his work ethic or anything like that. What I am saying is that we need one Minister responsible for Health and Social Services. He shouldn’t be saddled when other Ministers don’t have as much of a workload. That is what I am getting at. I want to ask the Premier, if...