Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, is this initiative still really on the table, or is it just -- we'll call it a paper exercise? So in other words, what indication is the Minister getting that this is going to be eventually approved? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to talk about the upcoming territorial election. It may only be two years away, Mr. Speaker, but more importantly is you can never start thinking ahead too soon.

Mr. Speaker, with only a few days in this sitting left, we have to work as hard as we can to squeeze the issues in. One particular topic I want to highlight today is preferential balloting, Mr. Speaker. Interestingly enough, you know, I would love to ask the Speaker questions on this but, of course, our rules of our House don't allow this. I would grill you, of course, in...

Mr. Speaker, is the Minister supportive of the program to get the nominees and what's wrong with getting 50 refugees? It will help solve our economic crisis here we're having in the Northwest Territories, in all our communities, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister write the federal Minister responsible for this file and take the 50 refugees so we can get the 150 nominees?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up with a further question with the Minister of ECE.

So we've been told by elected officials outside of this House that the Minister has been offered 150 nominees if the GNWT demonstrates their utilization rates for asylum seekers, Mr. Speaker, through the program. Basically, take 150 refugees and get 150 -- and just to be clear, take 50 refugees and get 150 nominees. Can the Minister confirm this? Thank you.

I'm not here to hurt his feelings so I'll drop -- withdraw. Thank you.

The public administrator, Mr. Speaker, has been appointed I believe, if I could remember, for about five months. Mr. Speaker, they have a one-year contract. So what does we will do this mean? We've already had five months of water behind us, very little in front of us; can we get some timelines as to when you're going publicize this information? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was quite clear that I'm calling someone names, was her statement. That said, I wasn't calling anyone names. As a matter of fact -- and I thank you for the opportunity to do this, which is, as quoted, in the realm of health care and government, a czar is an informal term used to describe a high level official usually appointed to address a specific issue or crisis. The term is often applied to individuals or its authority to tackle complex problems in a particular field. As if anything, Mr. Speaker, it's an incredible accolade of respect for the expertise the...

Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the chance to finish, uninterrupted hopefully.

That said, Mr. Speaker, we should be talking about ratios. MIT did a review years ago, I seem to read, which was we're not computers; we're people, which is you can only challenge and stress the system so much whereas in nursing ratios asked the question can we allow our teams to focus in a reasonable and balanced way? Mr. Speaker, I'll end with this because I can't seem to -- I don't have enough time to finish my statement. I'll say you can only work the system to the bone and expect best results, but if you...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Health care is what I'm going to talk to the House today.

Mr. Speaker, we have a great system, best system, some of the best people, Mr. Speaker, but all systems have their challenges. So, Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the heroic efforts that the nurses face or challenge every day, you know, we are a great -- we're of great appreciation of what they do. Mr. Speaker, often they're treated as the only people we talk about in the system, but they are the symbol of the system in the way we chat about them. Let us not forget there are many people that support this system...