Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to bring up the issue of Hay River’s harbour, because most of you know that Hay River is a natural transportation hub. Hay River is the start point for a lot of the barging and tugboats that go up or down the Mackenzie. The harbour is important to commercial vessels, commercial fishing and recreation uses. We have a Canadian Coast Guard based there as well.

The federal government once dredged the harbour to clear the silt that came down the Hay River. The federal government no longer dredges the harbour. The growing sandbars are making it more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS the Human Rights Act provides for the establishment of the a Human Rights Commission and the appointment of commission members;

AND WHEREAS a commission member holds office during good behaviour for the term of four years;

AND WHEREAS Section 17(9) of the Human Rights Act provides that the Commissioner, on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, may, for cause, remove a commission member from office;

AND WHEREAS William Turner was appointed a member of the Human Rights Commission on November 1, 2010;

AND WHEREAS William Turner has admitted to taking...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, December 12, 2011, I will be moving the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that this Assembly recommend to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories that the appointment of William Turner as a member of the Human Rights Commission be revoked effectively immediately.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.

Can the Minister of Transportation inform me of any discussions the department has had recently with the federal government on dredging?

Is the government committed to spending additional dollars in this situation for many communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have doctors in their communities? Thank you.

Does the territorial government currently have any money in the budget to do this, or is this a future process?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Myrtle Graham, my new constituency assistant, and she’s from Hay River North. Thank you.

Is the territorial government working with the federal government to get any additional dollars to alleviate this problem? I know it’s not just a territorial problem, that they’re having the same difficulties in the provinces.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, Hay River does not currently have any permanent doctors. My question is for the Minister of Health. What is the territorial government doing to assist local health authorities to recruit permanent doctors?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak about a large problem that we’re having in Hay River. For several years now, our local hospital does not have any permanent doctors. Hay River is one of the largest communities in the North and we do not have any permanent doctors. The Hay River hospital is a regional centre that helps out a lot of the members in the community as well as the surrounding communities. The local hospital authority has been working with locums for several years now. I know that the hospital authority has been successful in getting a lot of locums to flow through Hay...