Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee today would like to deal with Bill 5 first and that’s it for today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, the MLAs for Hay River were involved in a process with the then-CEO of the hospital, Mr. Al Woods, and the public administrator of the hospital, of also receiving a lot of information about prospective sites for the new hospital. At that time I believe it was determined that the ENR/ITI site was the most suitable site. However, I appreciate that Public Works has done their homework and that there may be a better alternative.

Mr. Speaker, how does the proposed site of the Sundog industrial area, how does that take into account the issue of it being on the west side of the railway...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions about the proposed location for the new hospital in Hay River. I’m not sure if I should ask my questions to the Minister of Public Works or the Minister of Health and Social Services, but let’s go with the Minister of Public Works.

Mr. Speaker, we have, for many years, had a desire and a need for a new hospital in Hay River. This is something that, Mr. Speaker, yourself and myself over the years have worked on. We have had a little slippage. We haven’t stayed right on the front of the line for this capital project. It’s a very big project...

Mr. Chairman, that is probably another matter that could be taken up at a different time and in a different venue, but I can tell you that the differences between what is required in Alberta where many of the apprentices from the Northwest Territories, sometimes there is an opportunity for apprentices to continue to work in Alberta while they are taking their training down there because there is only a few short months between theory sessions at NAIT or something like that and the way that their hours are accounted for is different and does create an issue. But I will say that this is probably...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don’t sit on the Social Programs committee so I haven’t had very extensive knowledge of what this repeal and revision specifically pertains to. One thing I would like to ask of the Minister, and I guess this is a general comment but I will explain a situation related to apprenticeships that I would like to get some clarification on and then I guess the Minister can tell me if this has anything to do with the consideration that is before the House now and was before the Standing Committee on Social Programs.

Mr. Chairman, not every formal training session for the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said at the outset, my main concern is there be no slippage in the timing and the schedule for the construction of the new hospital. I think that the site or the location is probably of a secondary nature to the timing, as far as I’m concerned. But, Mr. Speaker, at the same time, the proposed site that is the choice of the government, I guess, or the town -- I’m not sure who was mostly pushing that -- is an industrial area.

I’d like to ask: have the people of Hay River been consulted in any fashion in this, in terms of the public? A hospital is usually...

Mr. Speaker, from the information that the Minister of Public Works has been able to get from his officials and people who are looking into these proposed sites, can the Minister tell us today in the House that he is very confident that the Sundog Industrial Subdivision, as it’s called, will have proper drainage concluded by then and that the choice of this site will not result in any delay in the start of construction of this? Because when you look at that site today, Mr. Speaker, it doesn’t look very ready for construction. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to use my Member’s statement today to welcome the Grade 6 students, teachers and chaperones from the Princess Alexandra School in Hay River. Recognition of visitors in the gallery is supposed to take less than 15 seconds, but Members’ statements are two and a half minutes, so I’m going to take my Member’s statement to recognize them. I would very much like to welcome them here and I do apologize if I do not pronounce your name right.

Teachers today: Rita Moizis and Jennifer Tweedie. Students: Kaed Blake, Novi Bordeny, Tia Buckley-Cayen, Nick Buth, Tristan Cross...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to recognize Marilyn Carroll in the visitor’s gallery. She’s here today to receive a reward on behalf of her late husband, John Carroll. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Carroll is also a very noted educator in Hay River in her own right, as well. I’d like to recognize her today. Also, I’d like to recognize Shirley Hancock, who was kind enough today to travel with our inductees and come over from Hay River with them. I’d like to recognize Shirley. I’d also like to recognize another constituent, Marc Miltenberger. I might be beating his brother to the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee would like to deal with Bill 7 first and then return to Executive Summary of the Report of the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project for today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.