Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions that persons with disabilities provide to our communities. This year, Disability Awareness Week is recognized in the NWT from May 28th until June 3rd. The theme for this year is Living, Working and Educating Together - Include People with Disabilities.

Disability can affect all of us directly or indirectly at any point in our lives. The onus of responsibility is upon us all to include people with disabilities in every aspect of life. The important message that comes with this is that we focus on people's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, nothing is being abandoned and nobody is being abandoned. The service will continue to be provided and in a community that has the skills and ability and the workforce to do that, and that’s in Hay River. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, work is underway as we meet in this House. Business plans, both on the O and M side and the capital side are being worked on. There will be formal review by committee members in the coming months and formally, as well, in the fall. Over the next three or four months the work on the business plans is going to continue and it will go through the normal process of committee review and discussion, as well as initial review by Cabinet. So that process is going to unfold here over the next three or four months. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back in 2002 when the Joint Leadership Council was formed we had an agreement from the board chairs, myself and the deputy, as to the terms of reference and the mandate that was signed off and agreed to by all the parties. That is what is the underpinning document that’s driving us. We are working to see if we can better formalize that process and work a little more closely with Stanton hospital and we are doing that. So the JLC is good on the books and will continue to be on the books in terms of providing that kind of oversight from all the authorities, along with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve had a number of discussions with the Minister for Public Works and Services, and we’ve made sure that the lines of communication are operating as they should be and we’ve rectified whatever missteps there may have been and we are carrying on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Joint Leadership Council already has that responsibility and we are moving, as I just indicated, to formalize that relationship and to work even more closely and effectively, meeting, I think, with the Stanton hospital. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, none of this was done on a whim and as elected politicians and officials, the Ministers and MLAs, we deal with politics and political decisions all the time. In this case, we made, in my opinion, a careful good decision. The option to renovate is still there, but it behoves me as Minister to get the information to see in fact whether there is the ability to construct new for the same price to extend the life and have a facility that would be there for 20 or 30 years longer than the renovated facility. Dene K’onia still is there and the potential...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two key people of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society; the president, Ms. Sandra Taylor and, of course, Ms. Vivian Squires, the new executive director, who are with us today in the audience. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hear the Member’s comments and I can appreciate and comprehend what he is telling me. I also have a position here that we’re moving on and we’re not abandoning anybody, we’re not denying anybody a service. I can appreciate how it feels when the concern people have when they see things they think move out of their communities, but this service is not going to be lost. It’s still going to be available a very short distance away. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all the capital projects we bring forward are very good on their merit and we’ve been working hard on recognizing, as the Member has pointed out, that there is a need here. We are competing for scarce resources, as the Members all know. But we are bringing it forward, along with a number of other initiatives and we will be making…We have, I believe, made a very good case. The factors are going to be looked at like the capital fund that’s available, the cost of the project as it’s been initially laid out. But we are moving on this and it is on our agenda...