David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have been getting a number of phone calls and e-mails. One e-mail was even titled "The Department of Injustice," Mr. Speaker. There is a disturbing situation that occurred recently with an employee being terminated at the North Slave Correctional Centre; an employee, Mr. Speaker, that indeed was speaking out against management practices and the hiring process at North Slave Correctional Centre. I find it to be quite a coincidence. A day after he was assaulted by an inmate, he was relieved of his duties as a correctional guard at that centre. It is a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the National Youth Safety Conference hosted by the Workers’ Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The conference will be held in Yellowknife on October 22nd, today, the 23rd and 24th. Over 110 young people from across the country between the ages of 16 and 24 will be arriving in Yellowknife to sharpen their safety skills in the workplace.

This will be the first National Youth Safety Conference hosted North of 60. The conference is called “What if You Couldn’t.” It’s aimed at instructing young workers...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will start of by saying that I do support the motion and I do support the work of my colleagues on this side of the House as well as the government in asking the questions and putting this issue to the forefront today. I think it is important that it gets the air time it gets. I also wanted to mention that, now more than ever, I think it’s important that as Regular Members we support the Premier and we support his government in his going to Ottawa and trying to get us a deal. I know we have been at this a long time and it’s about time that we did get a fair deal.

I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Premier. Back in March when I brought up the issue of a permanent trust fund being established in the Northwest Territories to benefit all northerners, the Premier stated at that time that he would have a discussion with Ottawa and with the Prime Minister in terms of the establishment of that trust fund. I’m just wondering, Mr. Speaker, if that conversation has taken place and maybe the Premier could let us know how that went. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague mentioned the fact that the Premier is on the verge of going to Ottawa next week, I do believe, and I’m just wondering if he can indeed bring up the issue of the trust fund again with the Prime Minister. I see the establishment of this trust fund as being beneficial to both the aboriginal leaders and governments in the Northwest Territories and our government, Mr. Speaker, because it should happen. We need to get that done. I’m just wondering if the government has any idea of what types of revenues we’re losing on a daily, monthly and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is going to focus on an issue that I’ve raised in the House before and one that I am very interested in seeing addressed. The issue is the establishment of a permanent trust fund for the benefit of all residents of the Northwest Territories.

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Mr. Speaker, as we are all well aware, the Northwest Territories is on the verge of the development of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. Our government is spending a tremendous amount of money, time and energy on ensuring that we are ready for this megaproject, but the fact still remains that Ottawa will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m just wondering if the Minister and his department have a strategy to perhaps come up with a program that is tailored to the residents of the Northwest Territories that they can seek some programming help while at home and not have to journey south, away from friends and family, to seek the help that they need. I’m just wondering if the department has any plans to try to put together some type of program tailor made to our situation here in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess I will start off with asking the question why a new hospital that was twice the size of the old hospital was using a budget based on 2002-03 actuals of the old hospital. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Residents are often sent south to get help far away from friends and family to support and encourage them. Money seems to be the biggest hurdle to overcome in making this happen. I would like to comment that during last fall's election campaign, many residents felt that a dedicated treatment centre was necessary and much needed. As a government, we need to prioritize the needs of our residents, with health and welfare being at the top of that list.

Why do we continue to operate a young offenders' facility in Inuvik with no clients, or a hospital in Fort Smith with...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will stop here. I just would like to know who did the budgeting for the new hospital in Inuvik in terms of what it would cost for utilities and maintenance. Was it an outside firm or was it Public Works? Someone really dropped the ball on this to miss this budget by what amounts to $1 million a year. If it’s one of our employees, they should be looking for a new job, Mr. Chairman.

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