David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, February 21, 2005, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that pursuant to section 18 of the Official Languages Act, Shannon Gullberg be appointed as Northwest Territories Language Commissioner; and further, that the appointment be effective February 22, 2005. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Maybe the Minister can help me too with this one; or Mr. Murray, perhaps. I know two of my colleagues have raised this issue; not this issue specifically, but the publication that just recently came out on STIs. Who made the decision to go from what was termed a sexually-transmitted disease to a sexually-transmitted infection? The reason I say that is because disease puts the fear of God into young people, if they think they are going to get a disease as opposed to an infection. If you go strictly on that, it’s counterproductive to start calling it an STI when most...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues, for your indulgence as I proceed with my first reply to a budget address. I’ve been a Member of this Assembly for just over a year and I wanted to share with you today some of my thoughts and observations. I’d like to begin by saying how interesting our financial situation is. Last year after taking office we were faced with impending doom and gloom, debt wall discussions and straight cuts here for new Members. We were basically forced to stomach some new tax initiatives to increase our revenue and that meant that the public had to pay, as...

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The stats don’t lie and they’re something that the Minister and the department can track on an ongoing basis and I think education is the key thing here. I know the Minister spoke of what really is happening out there and maybe we aren’t doing enough to promote the healthy lifestyle, the safe sex and the like. What are the plans from hereon, from today? We know our rates are at least 25 percent higher than the next closest jurisdiction. What type of performance measurement are we going to use to see if we’re making any headway here, because obviously we’ve got a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. How will the Department of Transportation, who is currently trying to work with the city on an MOU to pay for this road and to build this access road -- and that’s a known fact, that’s currently at play -- but then the Minister grants access to Deton'Cho Corporation to look at a housing development in that area. Is it an access road or is it a housing development, Mr. Speaker? That’s a legitimate question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I don’t know if the Minister has had a chance, but he probably knows this information anyway and maybe Mr. Murray as well, but the abortion rates are the highest in Canada in the Northwest Territories and this causes me some concern because Yellowknife is the only place in the Northwest Territories where women can get an abortion. I would hate to think that some women may be using abortion as a form of birth control and when you get up to the five, six and seven abortions, then you have to start to wonder if that’s the case. It’s costing the people that live...