Kevin A. Menicoche

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it’s important to state early on here that it’s not asking for any money to be included in the budget, but it only asks that the department place priority on this almost 30 kilometres of chipseal that’s been deteriorating over the years. I didn’t hear any competence in the Minister’s answer that they do plan to do it next year, and I feel that if we leave it past the 2014 season that we’re going to lose almost half of it because it’s all patches, gravel and chipseal. It’s got little painted lines; it’s actually quite tricky to navigate as it is today. To see us...

I’d like to thank the deputy minister for that explanation of that line item. Just with that, and without getting into further debate, I do have a committee motion here that I would like to move, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, I think the Minister laid it out there, but it still doesn’t squash the concern that there’s no capital in the future years upcoming. I think the only thing I saw in the books is 2018 or 2019, but I’d like to see it certainly moved up and the community would like to. So, if there’s any further remark, it would be that, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

The committee heard that the department should help residents understand significant changes under the new Wildlife Act and avoid inadvertent violations of the new act by promoting awareness of the roles, responsibilities and authorizations it contains. Recognizing the complexity of the Northwest Territories’ wildlife and habitat management system, the committee recommends that the department conduct an extensive communications campaign to ensure all residents are aware of the new act and its provisions. The committee highlights the importance of ensuring clarity surrounding the process for...

I guess the case here, as well, is that the community is expected to have increased development, increased traffic to the community, so the health and wellness of the community will be an issue here.

I would like to ask the Minister, will the Department start considering that and start planning towards that for restoring nursing to the community of Wrigley. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services some questions about nursing services in the community of Wrigley. When the highway was first opened up, there were two nurses in Wrigley only because there was increased development expected from traffic, et cetera, in the community of Wrigley. Since then, the two nurses have been removed. They have been removed for well in excess of 10 years now. But now, again the community is faced with the pressures of development as traffic and business increase due to the development in the Sahtu.

I’d like to ask...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I take my role as MLA very seriously and when we are in the House, everything is certainly public, Mr. Speaker. But I do stand on my opinion on this matter. I regret that I have to stand in this House on a point of privilege by a Yellowknife Member and the community of Yellowknife because they were offended. I don’t believe I said anything out of the ordinary and stand by my opinion, Mr. Speaker.

Unfortunately, of all the good work we are doing together, this is not a vision I would like to see for a voice from a small community, an MLA from a small community...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to say that we have a well-established capital planning process. It takes a lot of hard work, working with your colleagues, different committees, working with Cabinet, to get your plans into the capital plan, and having last minute additions is something that I’m not really in favour of, only because it impacts some of the potential projects that I have in my small communities in my riding. Just with that alone, I like Mr. Moses’ suggestion as well. Let’s re-evaluate this. Let’s just not throw motions in at the last minute to force things done. We have to have...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Just in this year’s capital budget you do have a planning study for Trout Lake and their need for a replacement school. That’s how I’ve been approaching the community. The community has always said they want their own stand-alone school and they certainly do want to see renovations there. In fact, kudos to the community of Trout Lake, one of the fastest growing communities in the Northwest Territories. Many young families are moving back and that has resulted in many children now. They’ve actually got 20 in the school right now and those numbers are only going...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is not a case that there never were nurses there. There were nurses there, there was RCMP there, so I would like to once again ask the Minister to look into the situation, take into account the increased development in that area and start planning or accessing the need for restoring two nurses back to the community of Wrigley. Thank you.