Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will commit to provide the Member with the information. I will go back to the department to see what they have planned for the summer to address some of the issues on the table and the initial work that has been done by the working group. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, like the Members opposite, the Members on this side of the House are very concerned about the wellbeing of children. We’re all parents or grandparents or both and we’re very concerned about that. We’ve looked at this situation carefully. We looked at all aspects of it, in my opinion, and we’ve made a considered decision based on that.

Madam Speaker, I want to reiterate again that Hay River has the capacity to house this program. The contractor is going to set up the program in Hay River. We’re not dismantling anything. We’re just changing the location of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, today is World No Tobacco Day, a day set aside by the World Health Organization in 1988 to bring attention to the enormous global impact of tobacco use. Tobacco causes 10,000 deaths a day worldwide and is expected, in 15 years, to overtake infectious diseases as the world’s leading cause of death and disability.

The enormity of this problem has lead to the creation of the framework convention on tobacco control, in the first ever global public health treaty. Canada lead in the development of this treaty and ratified it in May 2005.

Here in the Northwest...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Further to commitments made by my colleague Mr. Bell, there is a working group that is being pulled together with the various authorities collectively putting their heads together to come up with a work plan over the course of the summer to jointly look at the issues that cost the various mandates to ensure we can address some of the issues that my colleague has raised. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, today I wish to recognize the contributions and abilities of persons with disabilities. NWT Disability Awareness Week is from May 20 to June 4, 2005. The theme for this year’s activities is “Celebrating our Strengths.”

Madam Speaker, disability can affect any one of us directly or indirectly at any point in our lives. Some people are born with disabilities. Other people are disabled by an accident, illness or disease. Some disabilities are temporary, while others are life long. Some disabilities are visible and other disabilities cannot be seen...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I’ll let the Member expedite, we’ll move in…(inaudible)…and we’ll try to expedite the process.

---Laughter

I’m not sure what pot he’s talking about, but the pot I have has some resources in it, both of which are fully subscribed to. We’ve committed to this process. We’ve agreed with YACCS on a way to proceed and we’re going to do just that. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there has been an agreement reached between the Department of Health and Social Services and the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors on this project, but it is a cash flow issue. As far as I am aware, there is an agreement signed and that the chair is aware of it and that the deputies work directly with these folks and these matters are in hand. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I am aware of the circumstances of this particular case, and I am aware that it has taken some time to get all of the various parties together. I am also aware that in fact the accommodation will be ready for occupancy I believe this week. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my ears are still filled with the echoes of the debate in the last session of this House on a similar circumstance that was put forward by the Member for Hay River South on a circumstance that is somewhat related to this in terms of their community and the impact on their community. Unfortunately, the reality is that in this case, not unfortunately, but the reality is in this case, Madam Speaker, we are tasked to carry out a certain project and a move and we are doing that, and we will come forward in the business plan to lay out the detail. We will...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that Bill 7, Personal Directives Act, be read for the second time.

Madam Speaker, this bill recognizes and regulates personal directives, commonly known as "living wills." It provides individuals with a legal mechanism for planning for their own possible future incapacity with respect to their health care or other personal matters, and it enables medical practitioners to obtain consent in respect of individuals who lack the capacity to give consent.

Some of the key provisions of the bill are concerned...