Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, for the record, I would like to stand before this House and unreservedly and in an unqualified way withdraw comments. I apologize to the Member and this House for those comments and indicate that I am sorry for any distress that I have caused to him or his family. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we share the sense of urgency that the Member has indicated to us here, that we will get through this process as fast as we can and if there are suitable candidates, we'll make sure that that process is done as quickly as possible and job offers are made hopefully within a matter of a couple of weeks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I didn't catch the part of the Member's question about whether they are qualified or not.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of any loose change within the context of our entire fiscal circumstance. I have outlined to the Member the process and where the facility stands. There is also many other critical projects out there. The dementia facility has just come into the capital plan this year. It’s now on there and we will continue to move it forward in the coming business planning cycle. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been going through the business planning process, the capital planning process. The Minister of Finance gave a statement in the House about the fiscal update. He indicated that there is a requirement to have a certain amount of surplus to be able to fund our capital infrastructure. The money that was in the budget, the money was fully subscribed to. We have a much longer list of projects than we have resources. It is on our list should new money come available, but at this time there has been no money added to the capital budget and that is the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In recognition of National Foster Family Appreciation Week, October 15th to the 21st, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the contributions our foster families make in the lives of many children and families in the NWT.

For the past several years, over 400 foster families have provided a safe, caring home for over 600 of our most vulnerable children who require this service. Some of these foster families provide short-term care in emergency situations, while others have been providing a service to the same children for many years and thereby creating...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday in this House, I made reference to two individuals. This was a conversation, as I sat in my chair, as Mr. Ramsay was talking. Those

comments were not on the record, but when he called the point of order I recognized, very clearly, that I had caused him some unhappiness, that I had spoken inappropriately to the point where he wanted to call a point of order.

I thought it would be incumbent upon me to do the right thing, which is stand up and acknowledge that, yes, there were comments made and that I was prepared to withdraw them. Those comments...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I intended with my previous answer was to indicate that up to this point, this current business planning process, the dementia facility had never been formally brought forward as a capital project, that work had been done over the last few years. We've used some federal money; we have identified land for the project. It was put in through the capital process for the first time this business planning session, and while it would not be reflected in the capital plan, as I indicated to the YACCS people, it is now in the capital planning process and will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the hope is that of the people that applied some will be seen to be qualified by the hiring committee and that there will be a choice and some interim process to allow those positions to be filled. If it's found that none of the candidates are suitable, then we're going to be in a difficult situation of trying to cover off with casuals and support from the Inuvik Health and Social Services Authority office in Inuvik. But at this point, as I indicated, Mr. Speaker, I'm not aware of who has applied or what their qualifications are. So I'm going to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will give it to the Member before the start of the House tomorrow with information on each of those positions and the status of where they may be in the hiring process, recognizing that I know the importance of this. The Member is talking about this, and I will commit to do that. Thank you.