Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier in the day I did my Member’s statement on cancer and cancer screening in the smaller communities. I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, how does the Minister explain the uneven levels of cancer screening in communities of different sizes and what will be done about it? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. There’s more and more concern about cancer in the communities of Nahendeh. People believe that the rate of cancer is increasing. That alone should tell us that more support is needed in our small communities. More information is needed along with better support for people who do have cancer. Some sharing circles have been held and that is a good thing. More sharing circles for families should take place so that there is consistency in this form of support.

I have seen the numbers in the recent report on cancer in the Northwest Territories and it doesn’t look...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to follow up with questions to the Minister of Transportation about my initial concern for my riding and the residents of Fort Liard and reconstruction of Highway No. 7. I know that in this year’s federal budget they have indicated a new Building Canada Plan. It’s $53 billion. I don’t know that they had time to talk with the departments, talk with their federal counterparts, and see just how much of that money will be available for our Northwest Territories government in building infrastructure for our Northwest Territories.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It certainly impacts the well-touted Corridors for Canada III plan of the Department of Transportation. I’m just wondering: What does the department have? Will the department come back for a Corridors for Canada III divided by half proposal? How is the department going to manage all those initiatives? I know we had great discussion in committee and it seemed like a great plan, but now with the reduced amount the Minister has already said he doesn’t know how much he’s actually getting because there are still discussions happening.

I guess the other question, too...

That’s the exact amount of money I need to reconstruct Highway No. 7.

---Laughter

That’s great news. Maybe the Minister can detail how that $258 million will be broken up – he did indicate I think it was municipalities and transportation – maybe what kind of dialogue and is it $258 million over 10 years. How is that $258 million allocated for the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This six-week budget session would not be complete without me repeating my two favourite words: Highway 7.

The recent federal budget just gave this topic further mileage. The federal government has renewed funding with the new Building Canada Plan in this year’s budget and the Department of Transportation’s Corridors for Canada III plan is part of the new Building Canada Plan, this country’s longest and largest infrastructure plan ever. The Northwest Territories will be getting a small fraction of the $53 billion, and we need a plan to repair the fractured highways of...

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I thought we had dealt with this or the House had dealt with this before and the results were clear; the majority did not support 21 seats, and here we are debating it again and all for the same reasons.

I just want to say that I continue to be consistent that I don’t support 21 Members. We have a 19 MLA solution. It’s not the perfect solution, but it’s a solution now. I think this can be revisited in the 18th Assembly. Some Members spoke about Yellowknife close to but at the upper limit, but they’re not over at this point. I believe that it can be revisited in...

I know that Transportation had an excellent Corridors for Canada III proposal, Building for Prosperity. That was $600 million over a 10-year period and it addressed many of the concerns in each of our constituencies and, in fact, for the whole of the Northwest Territories.

How does that funding impact our ability to follow through with Corridors for Canada III: Building for Prosperity in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise to say that I will be supporting the motion. It’s new and unique and almost like an emerging opportunity for the communities to work with the experienced mushroom pickers that do come up from down south, and hopefully we can learn from it and make it our own homegrown industry there.

Even with business, we say you have to work with Aboriginal communities, you have to work with Aboriginal businesses, and I think this is another fine example of it. The motion is just calling for the Minister to act quickly – there is potentially a boom in mushrooms this...

I continue to urge the HR Minister and all the Ministers that when we’re trying to advance our Aboriginal employees that we pay attention to them like we say we do in our plan.

I also spoke about the frustration that individuals are having trying to gain employment with the Government of the Northwest Territories. They apply on many jobs and every time they have to do a personal screening test for each and every job. I can see how complicated and how frustrating that can be.

Does the plan include anything to make it easier for potential new employees to gain employment in the Government of the...