Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recently attended an open house for the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority’s midwifery program. The event was well attended and highlighted the value of midwives in the Northwest Territories. There are currently three midwives practising in the Northwest Territories: two in Fort Smith and one here in Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah.

The Midwifery Profession Act, proclaimed in 2005, provides for the licensing, registration and regulation of registered midwives in the Northwest Territories. Midwives have been active intermittently in Yellowknife since 2006...

Once again thanks to the Premier for that response. Could the Premier also tell me what specific NWT energy projects could gain from partnerships with private industry?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation. I was wondering if the Minister could tell me what role he sees for the NWT Power Corp in the energy future of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and once again thank you for that response. Is the GNWT or the NWT Power Corp actively seeking partnerships on any energy projects in the NWT?

Thanks to the Premier for that response. Could the Premier also tell me what kinds of partnerships are possible on energy projects?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week in this House the lead Minister for the Ministerial Energy Coordinating Committee tabled the draft NWT Hydro Strategy and GNWT Energy Priorities Framework. Energy is an increasingly important issue for our constituents. How much do we have? How much does it cost? Can our environment cope with our demand? The GNWT also faces increased energy costs along with higher costs for services we already provide and strategic initiatives we would like to pursue.

We are looking at expanding our existing hydro development to offer electricity to industry. We are looking at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and once again thanks to the Minister of Justice. Given that one of our mandates is to increase safety and security in our community and that falls under the responsibility of one of our new strategic investment committees, I could see this as being part of one of our new initiatives, one of our new strategic directions we could take. I would encourage the Minister and I’d like him to commit to talking to the Minister responsible for that strategic investment committee to work with these organizations and provide some longer term funding so that we can actually see some...

Thanks to the Minister of Justice for that information. I was wondering if he could tell me if, in fact, the Department of Justice provided any financial support to the Yellowknife Community Wellness Coalition for the 2008–2009 fiscal year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yellowknife’s natural surroundings and safe, small town atmosphere are things that make our capital city unique. Sadly, in recent years this sense of security is no longer the case. We’re experiencing an increase in break and enters as well as drug trafficking. The popular Frame Lake walking trail has become a scene of violent crimes.

Some proactive citizens have created the Yellowknife Community Wellness Coalition, a community policing organization made up of trained volunteers. Their Citizens on Patrol is a neighbourhood watch service that acts as eyes and ears only —...

I look forward to seeing that information once the Minister of Justice provides it to me.

In a similar line, would the Department of Justice consider core funding to the Yellowknife Community Wellness Coalition so that they would be able to hire a coordinator to provide further training to their membership and promote their organization? It would benefit not just Yellowknife. If this organization is established, they’d certainly be able to provide the best practices to some of the other larger communities in the Northwest Territories — Fort Smith, Hay River, Inuvik, Simpson — which may be able...