Wendy Bisaro

Mr. Speaker, I have to confess I was having a bit of a sidebar. I don’t think I heard a number as to how many residents are not currently covered. I guess I would like to ask the Minister... To go to her statement, yes, there are other ideas out there, but there really is no option, given the schedule that we are working under. I will try to question again. How many residents do not currently have access to supplementary health benefits? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are addressed to the Minister for Health and Social Services today. I mentioned in my statement that a discussion paper was released relative to the supplementary health benefits changes a little while ago. In speaking to the Minister in committee and in the House, the Minister has maintained from the outset that this discussion paper is objective, that there’s no predetermined outcome. But I guess I have to disagree, and I think other Members do as well. The other day, in reference to the public and the public’s response to the information in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, life is never dull in this building. Something is always happening. Sometimes we know it’s going to happen, sometimes we don’t, but there is never also any shortage of opinions no matter what the topic.

Today I, along with other Members, will speak to the controversial issue of changes to our Supplementary Health Benefits Program. I feel like we’re jumping from the frying pan into the fire. We’ve spent the last several months sizzling in the pan over the very controversial bridge issue and we will now jump into the fire with the supplementary health benefits...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this bill asks us to approve spending $165 million on the Deh Cho Bridge. It’s a yes or a no decision so it should be seen as a simple one, but as we heard through our discussions on Tuesday afternoon, it’s anything but simple. There are many, many questions from Regular Members which remain as yet unanswered, not because Ministers don’t want to provide the answers but because they can’t. They don’t have the information to pass on to us. Negotiations aren’t finalized so the status of the Bridge Corp is unknown. Deficiency tests aren’t completed so the...

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess if we are and we have already input some $13 million into this project, we are going to get paid back through dividends, if I understood the Minister correctly, but I would think that if we are one-third partners and there is a dividend of, say, $30, we are only going to get one-third of that $30 dividend. We are only going to get $10. My understanding is that the other partners in the Deze Corporation have put in minimal money compared to our $13 million. In getting paid back through dividends, are we going to get an equal share of any dividend or are we going to get a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are addressed to the Minister responsible for the Power Corp. I spoke in my Member’s statement about the fact that we continually hear that the Taltson Expansion Project, Deze Energy Corporation, is a business, and that the enterprise and the expansion is itself a business, but the GNWT, as I mentioned, has put quite a few millions into this particular project. I’d like to ask the Premier whether or not the GNWT will be paid back for the millions that we have invested in this project. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister as well. I guess I would encourage the Minister to consider there may be cases where sending a patient south might actually speed things up and, if that is the case, I would encourage the Minister to consider doing that. I understand it’s probably unlikely, but we have to keep all doors open, in my mind.

The Minister mentioned something about wait times are about changing the system. If we have wait times as long as a year for one particular speciality, I’m sure there are others that happen to be longer. I would like to ask the Minister what we as...

Thanks to the Minister. I would appreciate knowing whether or not we do have certain standards which are out there which we should attempt to adhere to. I do remember a conversation from a couple of years ago on the federal scene that we were trying to reduce wait times for patients. I’d be interested in seeing standards, if there are any.

The concern for my constituent, in October of 2008 he was advised that it was a one-year wait to see an orthopaedic specialist. I wonder if the Minister could tell me what kind of a wait it is at this particular time now that we’re in March of 2010.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I understand that things are being negotiated and so on, but I guess I am concerned, as I mentioned in my statement, that we are entering into this project. We are, at this point, backstopping the project without any sort of financial safeguards. I think the Premier mentioned yesterday, in response to a question from Mr. Abernethy, that some part of this project is coming up to this government for approval in the near future. Could I get an explanation of what he meant by that? Thank you.