Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As my colleague indicated, we had the honour of attending the 2013 Chamber of Commerce gala in Hay River on Friday night. Typically this is one of the big events of the year in Hay River, where the Citizen of the Year is named. This Citizen of the Year is Lilian Crook. Lilian Crook is a long-time Hay River resident. She’s a valuable asset to the community of Hay River. She does a great deal of volunteering in the community. She is the leader of the Hay River Persons with Disabilities and she’s the successful award winner of this year’s Citizen of the Year.

During this...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a motion. I move that this committee strongly recommends that the government identify the necessary funding to accelerate the establishment of midwifery services in Hay River to commence in the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have no further questions but I do look forward to seeing that happen sooner than later.

I appreciate the Minister’s answer, but in that answer there’s no indication of any kind of timeline. Are we expecting to see this in a month? Three months? Are we expecting to see it in the fall? Or are we going to deal with it in another Assembly?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize two Pages from Hay River North: Nadia Wood and my niece, Sherisse Bouchard. Also in the gallery is my sister-in-law Leslie Bouchard, who is their guardian for the week.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I’ve indicated in statements today, I think it’s something very important that we implement sooner than later. I’m quite confident the department can implement this sooner than later. I’m very comfortable with the Minister. I made this motion so that we implement this sooner than later, and it moves everybody’s midwifery programs ahead by a year.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the department’s answers to all these questions and I appreciate the Minister’s responses as well. I guess this is the beginning of the process that, when coming into this job, I thought I might find it frustrating being in private business where we implement stuff a little quicker than the government, and this is one area that I think is lacking with our government system, and it’s in the area of midwifery.

The Minister has asked why we’re so concerned about trying to implement things quickly and trying to move things ahead. It’s basically because I think...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning the Minister of Health, Tom Beaulieu, started his statement, “It is a priority of this government that children get the best possible start in life so that they can reach their full potential.” I’d like to recognize some of those people that help that.

We all know that many youth throughout the winter travel throughout the North to compete in many different sports: hockey, soccer, swimming, basketball, figure skating, hand games, and many others, including skiing. I’d like to recognize all those parents, grandparents and coaches that have been on the road...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have any questions today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize two long-time curling friends, Fred Koe and James Ross.