Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The wish of the committee today is to deal with Tabled Document 75-16(5), Response to the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project on the Federal and Territorial Governments’ Interim Response to “Foundation for a Sustainable Northern Future.” Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee today would like to proceed with table documents 98, 99, 100 and 101, please. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m a little bit conflicted and confused by some of the dialogue that’s taken place in the House here today. I’m sure anybody listening in the public must be wondering, too, and kind of scratching their head. Here we’re heralding this big victory that we got for rescinding the 2007 policy. Mr. Speaker, people should make no mistake: this doesn’t mean that we’ve entered from having the 2007 Supplementary Health Policy, and now because we’re rescinding it we’ve entered into some kind of utopia, you know, some kind of Shangri-La on supplementary health care services...

I move that consideration of Tabled Document 99-16(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 5, 2009-2010, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 99-16(5) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.

Anyway, my question for the Minister is: Just because we do not have the 2007 policy, the Minister will concur that it is not going to be status quo going forward. Correct?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following on the Minister of Health and Social Services ministerial statement today on the Supplementary Health Benefits Policy, I would like to add a few comments.

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to co-chair a joint working group made up of Cabinet Minister and Regular Members to look at this topic. This is something that has received a lot of public attention. Mr. Speaker, I think if I could characterize the Supp Health Policy as it was proposed, it comprised of some very good initiatives and some very good principles. Unfortunately, bundling them all together and...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee today would like to do Tabled Document 66-16(5), NWT Capital Estimates 2011-2012, and we would like to deal with the Housing Corporation. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to support the motion, because if this motion and if this new policy were implemented, it would necessarily result in there being less money for the local housing authorities to work with because it would in fact reduce people’s rents.

I think the responsible thing for us to do is to look at housing system-wide and say is there anything that could offset this loss of rent. So we would be trying to affect a positive change for a certain group of people that would see their rents reduced.

I do support that, Mr. Speaker, but I think, at the same time, we need...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you can see, we’ve chosen today, as a group of resident Members, to talk about housing, the delivery of housing in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, it is a daunting and big challenge to balance the interests of the people who need housing, with our policies, with trying to reward people who are diligent and who are trying their hardest, and those who sometimes are a frustration to the system, and perhaps even may I go as far as to say may abuse the good heartedness and the good policies of this government. It is trying to find that balance of rewarding the...