Glen Abernethy

I know ITI is doing an awful lot. They’re trying. I have some questions that I’ll ask the Minister on that later. What I’m talking about is the fact that ENR gave bad information, bad advice to residents who relied on that information to their detriment and are now in a negative financial position which might drive them into bankruptcy. They relied on what the government said and they are hurting as a result, because the government changed their mind. I want ENR, who is the department who gave the advice, to work with these individuals and find some common ground, possibly reimbursing them...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a resident of the Great Slave riding, Ms. Margaret Peterson. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Once again, going to ITI, I’m talking to ENR. I’d like to see ENR live up to the same high standard that the Minister of MACA set when he responded to poor information given out by his department. They turned around and they made it right. I need ENR to make it right in this situation. There is not even an attempt here. I would like the ENR Minister to meet with the outfitters and work with them to come up with a resolution so that these individuals can get some money back as a result of the bad information that the Minister’s staff gave. They are his employees and they were speaking on his...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for ENR and are a follow-up to my Member’s statement.

On December 18, 2008, senior representatives of ENR met with some barren-ground caribou outfitters. At that time they told the barren-ground outfitters that for the 2009 hunting season and the 2010 hunting season their tags would not be affected and that 750 tags would be available. As a result, the outfitters went ahead and started booking hunts and collected deposits and whatnot. Then, obviously, the numbers were cut back and there were no tags.

These individuals...

This situation was made worse by the fact that in November 2009 another senior ENR official was quoted in Above and Beyond indicating that caribou numbers for the NWT are going up. In addition, in October 2009 the Minister of ITI made several tourism-related statements indicating the value of outfitting in the NWT. These statements lent credibility to ENR’s earlier statements and increased the outfitters’ confidence that their tags would not be affected in 2010.

Given that these long-time, committed Northerners relied on this information in good faith, I believe that the Minister of ENR should...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As politicians we all must be impeccable with our words. Our residents listen closely to what we say and make personal and professional decisions based on what they hear in this House and statements quoted in the press. This is especially true for Ministers. When a Minister or one of his or her staff makes a statement to people of the Northwest Territories, those people take those statements at face value. As a result, there is significant value in thinking about the statement and understanding the ramifications of the words before making them public.

Unfortunately, from...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the goals of the 16th Legislative Assembly is healthy, educated people. One of the activities identified under the goal is to improve support for children and adults with special needs and disabilities. FASD is a reality with the Northwest Territories. Unfortunately, there are many adults who remain undiagnosed in the Northwest Territories and are therefore ineligible to receive support and programming available which is available to people who have been diagnosed as children. As a result, these undiagnosed individuals may face greater challenges than those...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to present a petition dealing with the matter of diagnosis and treatment of residents affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 749 signatures of NWT residents.

Mr. Speaker, the petitioners request that the Government of the Northwest Territories implement medical diagnosis and specialized programs and treatments for the residents affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m sorry, I forgot to include my colleague Mr. Hawkins. Obviously he should be there as well. Lastly, I’m glad you’re going to be doing the review, but I think it’s very important that we get outside-of-the-government input as well, not just the filmmakers, but other industries and people that would benefit from the industry. I was hoping I could get the Minister to commit to going well beyond just the filmmakers themselves.