Wendy Bisaro

I’m sorry. That didn’t really help. Maybe I should ask the question what do physicians, an approximation of the number that physicians cost us on an annual basis. Thank you.

Thanks for that explanation on the client navigator.

I just have one quick question. The Minister made a statement this week about Drop the Pop and I wondered if I could get an explanation from her, or a bit of an elaboration on whether or not this program will also target energy drinks, which I think are probably even more evil than pop is. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I guess it begs the question to the Minister: if it is a system debt and it has been three years that they have been trying to rework the system debt, how come we haven’t seen any change in the various health authorities? Why are they still working with budgets which are obviously unworkable? They are obviously underfunded.

The Minister referenced a number of things that the department is doing. I support all of those things, but I guess I am wondering why we aren’t seeing some effect of the changes that are happening, the efficiencies that are being found, the reworking of...

Thank you again, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, February 10, 2011, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on February 10, 2011, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 14, 2011;

And further, that any time prior to February 14, 2011, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table the anti-poverty workshop report titled No Place for Poverty. Thank you.

Thanks to the Premier. I certainly don’t deny that the government is heavily involved in programs to try and attack poverty. What’s necessary is a cross-departmental coordination and cooperation among departments and the silos are still evident. I also don’t deny that the government needs to do the work and there needs to be an analysis of what we are doing.

My question to the Premier had to do with the consultation that is presumably about to happen and I’d like to point out to the Premier that there were representatives of the government at that workshop, approximately 12 percent of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier and I’d like to follow up on my statement about the Anti-Poverty Strategy. I want to follow up on the report which went to the government last December from the workshop that was held in October.

I know that there is a GNWT working group that has been established and I also know that it does not include any representatives from outside of government, that there are no representatives from the Anti-Poverty Alliance. I know there is an advisory body but that body is not involved as part of the working group.

So I’d like to ask...

I didn’t want to go anywhere near income testing. That wasn’t the question I asked. I simply asked why we couldn’t start to consider coverage for that group of people who currently have no supplementary health benefit coverage. I didn’t really hear an answer. I heard the Minister say that it’s a big policy decision and there has to be some consultation on it. Absolutely. But why can’t we start?

Mr. Speaker, the consultation was done last fall by a group of 81 diverse representatives, 12 percent or so of whom were GNWT staff. Why are we consulting again and why the very short time frame? It seems as though, once again, the government is not listening to its citizens, that it is forging ahead without consideration for the input of our non-government partners. I will have questions for the Premier at a later time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Then what are the numbers on page 8-22 for? The $79.041 million and the $37.928 million? Thank you.