Kevin O'Reilly

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to finish in less than five minutes. I have one comment and one question, if I may. My comment is that the last Premier said that we were going to get all of the negotiations completed in the last Assembly, and we had one agreement-in-principle reached. The bar was too high with the last Assembly. This one, I think it's too low, with just two of maybe 16 tables. I think, hopefully, we can get somewhere in between.

That was my comment, Madam Chair. My question is the advisory committee that's mentioned in the "how we will demonstrate progress," the very first...

Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess I understand the math a little better. What I want to do, though, I want the Minister to think completely outside of the box. There is this glass ceiling of 2,400 units. We have to break that glass ceiling if we are going to ever get all of our residents housed properly. We cannot live within that limit. We are going to have to find more ways to raise revenues. We are going to have to get more money out of Ottawa. If we ever have a hope of actually getting adequate housing, suitable housing, affordable housing, for all our residents, we've got to get rid of that...

Merci, Madame la Presidente. As I stated on December 11, 2019 in this House, I have a number of concerns with the priorities that were developed by the MLAs. We produced a list of 22 priorities versus the 25 in the 18th Assembly. Hard choices were not made amongst big infrastructure projects or even between those projects and investments in social spending that should include housing, polytechnic university, universal childcare, and guaranteed basic income.

I do not support some of the priorities developed by this Assembly. I will put people first over infrastructure. Some priorities work at...

I want to thank the Minister for that. I, too, agree that we want to complete this network, probably with an emphasis on small communities, but Yellowknife actually has the largest Indigenous population of any communities in the Northwest Territories. There are a lot of unilingual speakers right here in Yellowknife, as well. We have to find a way to provide services for them. There is already a model for how we could do some of the regional centres. We have the Services TNO office here in Yellowknife. I want to ask the Minister whether she can tell us whether there has been an evaluation of...

Merci, Monsieur le President. My statement earlier today raised the issue of completing our network of single-service window centres across the entire NWT. Would the Minister of executive and intergovernmental affairs briefly describe the services performed at these centres and how effective they have been in increasing access to government programs and services? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. How do we demonstrate to the public and how can Cabinet convince Regular MLAs that climate change does become a consideration in important decisions or FMB decisions? How is that going to be documented and reported in any way? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Look, I need to be clear, here. In the last Assembly, I said that I don't support this particular project when we don't have a comprehensive plan in place and funded to protect the Bathurst caribou herd, which is down to 8,200 animals. Until our government gets serious about habitat protection and has that plan fully implemented, in place, funded, and so on, I will not be supporting this expenditure of funds. We can't have an all-weather road through critical habitat, including the Nunavut portion, which is a slightly different project, go through the calving grounds of...

I want to thank the Minister for that explanation. Look, it's great that our staff are -- and I know that they work very hard at Stanton Hospital, but clearly, when a policy like this is decided internally, it's probably not in the best interests of the patients. I have reviewed the Sonography Canada Professional Practice Guidelines; in fact, I quoted from them in my Member's statement. They were released in September of 2018, and there was nothing in there about northern healthcare or any specific guidance to exclude family members during an ultrasound. Would the Minister confirm that the...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, I was a Member of the last Assembly and we received a lot of information, some of which was about this particular project, but I don't actually ever recall seeing a business case for it. If the Minister can commit to share that, that would be great. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister tell this House what the current policy and practice is for ultrasounds at Stanton Territorial Hospital with regard to family members being present during the procedure? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.