Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I talked a bit about family violence and particularly violence against women and girls in my statement. I would like to follow up with some questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services about the Family Violence Action Plan. The first phase of the Family Violence Action Plan is done. We are now into phase two. I would like to ask the Minister some questions on the progress of this plan. One of the goals and a component of a goal is to increase funding to two shelters with their own buildings to compensate for O and M costs that are not experienced by other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Domestic violence is all too prevalent, Mr. Speaker, but domestic violence involving women and girls is an area that is especially concerning. The NWT is not immune to domestic violence, unfortunately. We are reminded on a daily basis of incidents that have occurred in one or more of our communities. Most of them report violence against women. Not only does the violence have an impact on the victim, but the offender’s actions affect everyone around the victim, children most often, but other family members and friends are also impacted by the trauma. They all must...

Thanks to the Minister. I guess if the Minister is going to contact MLAs, I hope that he would publish how many MLAs or how many do not take the pledge. I’d like to know from the Minister -- I mentioned in my statement that there are some amendments coming forward -- whether or not the Minister at this point can provide more information about what those amendments will be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As always, I’m trying to keep the issue of drivers using cell phones, and the fact that they shouldn’t be, front and centre in people’s minds. It’s definitely not something we should be doing. I’m looking for a bit more information from the Minister of Transportation in regard to the pledge campaign that is now part of the Drive Alive program. So I’d like to ask the Minister if he could elaborate a little bit on the Leave the Phone Alone pledge campaign, what the department is doing to put the campaign in place. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In January I read a GNWT press release that indicated that 2011 is the National Year of Road Safety. As part of the press release, our Minister of Transportation stated that the NWT traffic collision statistics are on a 20-year downward trend. That’s good news, but society is still plagued by people who drive with their judgment impaired or distracted by alcohol, by eating, through inattention to the roads, by kids in the back seat, and my pet peeve, talking on cell phones or texting with them.

The Department of Transportation has run a safe driving campaign for a number...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister. I definitely don’t want to threaten anybody, but we’re called leaders and I would hope we would be leading in this particular aspect of not driving with our cell phones in use. Thanks for the information on the amendments.

To the Minister, I guess I’m just wondering, knowing that the legislation is coming forward sometime and will be passed sometime in the next four or six months, any idea when the legislation will take effect? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. The more we can do to publicize the negative aspect of driving and using cell phones and texting, the better. I’d like to know from the Minister if he knows at this point -- I understand it’s a little bit preliminary for this campaign -- whether or not the department is working in conjunction with any other groups that also work to get people to not drive distractedly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure, as well, to recognize members of the Aboriginal Languages Revitalization Board and the Aboriginal Languages Board, and particularly a Frame Lake constituent, Dora Grandejambe, whose heart may be in Good Hope but she’s here now. I’d also like to recognize Nadine Koe, a friend who I worked very hard with on Arctic Winter Games in 2008. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have just a couple of questions here. The first is in regard to programs that the college offers. The Minister will have heard questions and concerns raised by other Members in the House earlier about the nursing programs which the college offers. There’s a concern that federal funding is ending I think in March of 2012. The NP educator program, the masters program, and the Introduction to Advanced Practice I believe are all delivered through the college. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not these programs are going to be able to continue. Is this...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to ask a few questions. I checked Hansard from yesterday and I was a little confused with the answers I received relative to the funding for the Food First Foundation and where the funding that they’re not getting is now going. I was advised that there were some concerns that were identified. The deputy minister indicated that there were some concerns identified by some of the schools relative to the previous years over this current year’s project. One of the things was that there was an increased workload placed on the schools to administer the program. But...