Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Premier today. I’d like to follow up on my statement and ask him a few questions with regard to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Lands and Resource Management. I recognize that that agreement is between our “public government GNWT and Aboriginal governments.” But, as I mentioned in my statement, there is a need for non-Aboriginal residents to have an opportunity to have some input into lands and resource management in our territory.

My first question to the Premier would be to ask him how does Bill 16, which is the NWT...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can’t support the amendment. The whole intent of this motion is to make sure that the spaces, the programs for our junior kindergarten, four-year-old aged children, to make sure that it’s a quality program, and in order to make sure it’s a quality program we need to have early childhood educators who are running the program. We need to have people who are trained in early childhood education techniques. We need to have people who will ensure that the quality of the program is of a high quality. There’s not much point in running a Junior Kindergarten Program if we’re...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning has completed its review of Bill 1, Reindeer Act; Bill 2, Archeological Sites Act; and Bill 3, Surface Rights Board Act.

That’s good. Thanks very much. I guess, not knowing the ATV Act, maybe the Minister can advise whether or not the ATV Act needs changes similar to what we’ve done for the Motor Vehicles Act to make sure that licensing and driver qualifications are where they should be for ATVs and quads.

I appreciate that some things have happened. I appreciate that it was difficult to put all 70-plus recommendations from the 16th Assembly report in place all at once, but it’s awful slow. I’m particularly concerned, Mr. Speaker, about the gap in services for 16 to 18-year-olds. I mentioned that in my statement. That is something which certainly could have been acted on from the time in October 2010 when that report was tabled in the Assembly until now. There could have been amendments to the act that were done. I appreciate the Minister says we are now – the royal “we” – his department is...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 52-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2013-2014, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 52-17(5) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services and I want to follow up on my statement and ask some questions to the Minister about the office of the Auditor General’s report recently released.

The Minister has mentioned that he and I were both on the Standing Committee on Social Programs in the 16th Assembly and we did that in-depth review. I believe the Minister is probably even more passionate about that review of the 16th Assembly than I am. There were 70 recommendations in that report. Those recommendations, if implemented, would have had a very...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My comments are similar to my colleagues’. In looking at the amount of this appropriation and the impact that it has on our Reserve Fund, it’s pretty mind-blowing. This appropriation is some $30 million. About $7 million is recoverable, but it leaves us with $24 million or so which, added to our $1.7 million negative already in our Reserve Fund, brings our Reserve Fund up to $26 million in the hole.

I agree with my colleagues that some of these increased pressures happen year after year after year and we should be able to predict them, and I’m very glad to hear that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we’ve heard, the Report of the Office of the Auditor General on Child and Family Services was tabled in the House yesterday. I read the report last night and again today. There is so much in it it’s hard to know where to start. The assistant auditor general, Mr. Campbell, called it troubling, and considering the contents of the report, I see that as an understatement.

After reading the report, there was a mixture of emotions for me: gratitude to the office of the Auditor General for their work. As always, they were thorough, fair, in-depth, to the point, and extremely...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. It was just a comment. That’s all I’ve got.