Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, February 26, 2010, I will move that Bill 12, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 4, 2009-2010, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, 65 years is more than any age of any of us sitting in this august Assembly. It’s decades longer than any warranty we’ll ever get. It’s the age of retirement, something to look forward to. In some parts of the world it’s the age of life expectancy, but today 65 years is a milestone that I’d like us to honour and recognize. We have with us in the gallery Mr. Al and Febula Bohnet, and today they’re celebrating a lifetime together of commitment, love and sharing going back 65 years today.

---Applause

This is an enormous accomplishment in this day and age. They’re...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Once again, I appreciate the Member’s comments. Her observations, I think, are accurate, as well, in terms of the ongoing health care costs, and the issue of sustainability is a huge challenge for every jurisdiction. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. These particular circumstances with children in southern placements and adults are constantly being assessed. There is a changing variety of presenting problems, multiple needs, many in high need categories, and the challenge is that you may only have one or two clients that have very specific high needs that can only be met in a specialized facility. If you have a number of those clients across a number of very expensive facilities, it limits our ability to meet all those different needs under one program area.

We did take a look at this, as the Member pointed out...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the advice from the Member.

Mr. Speaker, just to reaffirm that this issue is first and foremost about the caribou and protecting the caribou to give them some help in their time of need to regenerate and, hopefully, have their numbers grow as we come through with a larger harvest management plan. I’m not quite sure what the Member is talking about in terms of is this a summit. We’re working to resolve the immediate short-term issue related to the no-hunting zone and working with the Yellowknives to access enough animals for their communities, similar to the arrangement we have with the Tlicho. At the same time, we are...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are a number of ways. We’ll ensure that is done. We can do it by e-mail. We can do it, keeping in mind what he situation may be, to try to set up a conference call. But probably the fastest way would be to e-mail and if there’s a need to get more collaborative feedback, then we can look at some type of hook-up on a conference call.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Supplementary Appropriation (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 1, 2010-2011. Thank you.