Tom Beaulieu

A very, very high percentage of the private information that’s going to our office in Inuvik is getting to our office in Inuvik, being processed, cards are coming to the people. There are a few glitches in the system, yes. When you’re processing that many applications, there’s always something that will go wrong and sometimes information is lost. We try to recover that information. Individuals that apply for the card and are saying that the information is lost. We try to recover that information. Individuals who apply for the card and are saying the information was lost, we are dealing with...

We judge our statistics on what we’re getting from people that are indicating to us that they haven’t received their health care card in the appropriate time. Most people aren’t saying anything. As I indicated in the House previously, we received about 86 percent of the people who had birthdates up until a certain point that we were processing. That was 11,600 applications to the middle of May. If the information is lost, then we will do what we can to recover information. So the bottom line is, the individuals are covered for medical reasons and that’s what we’re trying to achieve. Thank you.

The department is interested in cost containment, and if we look at bariatric surgery and we recognize that the surgery is cost beneficial to the GNWT, and of course, changing the life of an individual that is morbidly obese, I will commit to looking into at least doing a cost-benefit analysis of that.

At one point when morbid obesity is being considered to be endangering an individual’s life, then it would be considered medically necessary. Thank you.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to congratulate a few people on the Premier’s Awards that were given out this morning in the Great Hall, people that originate from Tu Nedhe: Danny Beaulieu – my brother, actually – and Heather Beck for their work in the anthrax breakout; Felix Lockhart for his work in the residential school impacts; and also Justin Bailey and Everett McQueen for their work with young people.

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate Jonas and Violet Beaulieu of Fort Resolution who celebrated their 60th anniversary on May 19th in Fort Resolution.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] Mr. Speaker, today I’m happy for the people here. Since I have been a kid, I’ve been brought up on the land. The federal government has been our boss, the way we trap, the way we hunt, the way we survive on the land, the animals we kill. If we should shoot a moose or something, we were on the tagging system before. It’s a long way we’ve gone from those days.

We people sitting here, with the agreement that we are signing today, the people who are going to be sitting here after we are here, are going to be the boss of themselves. Right now the federal...

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be joining my colleague, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, in tabling Right from the Start: A Framework for Early Childhood Development in the NWT later today. This framework not only responds to the priorities of this Legislative Assembly, it also answers concerns that are top of mind for the people of the Northwest Territories.

Research informs us about the importance of the first years of a child’s life, and the wisdom of our elders and our communities has confirmed this. The return on early childhood investments has been well documented.

The...

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 21, An Act to Amend the Dental Profession Act, be read for the second time.

This bill amends the Dental Profession Act to revise the registration requirements for specialists as well as registration and supervision requirements for students. It also amends the composition of the registration committee and creates the position of registrar, replacing the secretary. Finally, the bill makes a change to meet the requirements of the Agreement on Internal Trade in respect of residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Currently, specific to that additional $1.6 million that was allocated, none of that money is allocated. Although it’s targeted, it has not been allocated to any specific project. The majority of the money that will flow, in addition to the money that is already flowing, will probably be added to the NGO contribution policy. Thank you.

Mahsi Cho Mr. Speaker. That money has not been allocated; however, we are close to determining exactly where that money will go. We are going to wait for the completion of both the 10-year framework on early childhood development and the Minister’s Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness to determine where we feel the best places to allocate this money. The money, the majority of it will be going into those to action plans and also some of it will be going directly to NGOs. Thank you.