Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of WCB indicated in the House that the Board of Governors of the WCB is planning on changing the policy on chronic pain, more specifically that the board is looking at allowing those suffering from chronic pain due to workplace injury to be eligible for permanent partial disability. Mr. Speaker, even though I have to learn this by listening in on the third-party exchange, I feel like ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’. I was so desperate for good news I was jumping up and down for joy because I thought after all these years it was an opening...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table three documents, the Mackenzie Gas Project - A Financial and Economic Assessment; Alternatives North media release on the independent report finds the Mackenzie gas project will be highly profitable and our governments are foregoing billions in potential tax revenue.

Short supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Could I ask the Minister as to whether there's an opening for this review of policy to apply to all the outstanding files that deal with chronic pain? That whatever the corporation comes up with that it would apply to all the outstanding files dealing with chronic pain? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to tell you, this is really, really good news. I'm really glad to hear the Minister say this. I am very hopeful with the Minister's suggestion that the WCB actually is willing to look at chronic condition as not just a compensable injury, but the whole issue has been about the fact that workers with chronic pain cannot get the permanent disability pension and the Minister is now just suggesting that that is a possibility. So I'd like to ask the Minister for some deadline and what exactly is this process, what is the role that the Members here have? Can we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome everyone in the gallery, but if I may make special mention of Mr. Sam Gargan. I used to work in research when he was a Member and I worked for him when he was Speaker. I remember he used to call me at every telephone stop with a project. I don’t know if any other Members do that, but I would just like to welcome Mr. Gargan to the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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I think I will go with that. I will keep communicating with the Minister to follow that up. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. If I could have the indulgence of the House, I'd like to just raise a point that I'd like the Minister to speak on, because I’m not sure exactly if we have a clause that this specifically applies to and I don't want to end up at the end of the bill and find out that I did not deal with the issue. Maybe the Minister and his advisors could tell me exactly what clause I should bring this out to if it should not be in the general comments. The only issue I have is the fact that while this legislation improves the debt collection process in that right now garnishees have...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to provide committee's comments on the bill. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 12, Garnishment Remedies Statutes Amendment Act, on September 5th, 2006, and October 16th, 2006. During the public hearing, the Minister confirmed that the amendment will result in fewer fees as garnishment orders will have effect for up to one year and it will no longer be necessary to obtain an order very two weeks as is currently required in many cases. While a garnishment order might apply to several paycheques, the fee would only...

Billions…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a written question to the Premier.

Please provide a government analysis of the study entitled The Mackenzie Gas Project - A Financial and Economic Assessment, prepared for Alternatives North by Pacific Analytics Inc., dated September 26th, including its implication on the government’s negotiation with the federal government on resource revenue sharing and devolution. Thank you.