Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, wish to thank all the people for coming today and welcome them here. I have a number of Frame Lake residents I would like to recognize. Firstly, Dave and Maureen Miller, Dave of CBC fame; and Jessica and Vincent Casey; Katie Miller and my constituency assistant, Kerry King. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, November 5, 2010, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that this Legislative Assembly requests the Governor-in-Council to dissolve the 16th Legislative Assembly on September 4, 2011, to permit a general election for the 17th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories to be held on October 3, 2011.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I again today want to talk about health care programs and funding.

We’re all aware that funding for a valuable, well-used respite program is set to end next March. The impact has been discussed. It will adversely affect parents, but more so, in my mind, is the negative affect it will have on disabled children.

The respite program has provided socializing opportunities for these kids outside the home with their respite worker. They’ve been able to develop relationships with their worker and, more importantly perhaps, with other children.

Several parents have told me that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 2(3) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act and Section 9(3) of the Northwest Territories Act, every Legislative Assembly shall continue for four years after the day fixed for the return of the writ of election for the general election and no longer;

AND WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 39(5) of the Elections and Plebiscites Act, the Legislative Assembly has expressed a desire to have the general election held on the first Monday in October in the fourth calendar year following polling day for the last general election;

AND WHEREAS...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this motion. For me, the preamble, the whereas clauses of this motion say it all. The government keeps saying that we value families, that we want to support families, but I find this is a very strange way of showing it by cutting a program of such value.

Further, this action flies in the face of the recently tabled report on the review of the Child and Family Services Act. Throughout that report there’s a recurring theme of the need for provision of supports for families and communities. How can the Minister of Health and Social Services accept the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I’d like to follow up on my statement and her statement as well.

I noted in the Minister’s statement that there were no words that I read or understood which referenced that coverage would be extended to those residents of the NWT who do not currently have either chronic conditions coverage or catastrophic drug coverage or supplementary health benefits coverage. So I’d like to ask the Minister, is it the intent of the Minister and the department to do that? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, we were fortunate to have rain every day. I have to just again express my disappointment, although I have to say that this is probably the one area of expense why I could understand why we would have a base amount and then would come back for an appropriation, because it is a very volatile activity and one can never tell from one year to the next how many fires we’re going to have. But I do think that our base amount is not enough. Thank you, Mr. Chair. It’s pretty much a comment.

I would be interested in seeing those two numbers, because I really have a hard time believing that we need $3.6 million. We have a $3.6 million shortfall if we’re budgeting from actual, because in the previous year we had a deficit of almost $2.8 million. Just a comment.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That’s good.