Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Menicoche.

The committee agrees with the Auditor General that the department’s capacity to achieve its priority of a sustainable, effective health system depends on the ability to monitor performance and health outcomes. As both are currently deficient, both must be improved. The government must support the department’s efforts to do this, including appropriate funding through the annual budget process. It must be understood that data collection and performance monitoring are crucial to sound planning, determining spending priorities, and shaping a...

What I found, working at the corrections centre, was that when many of these souls did dry up and cleaned up from their alcohol and drug problems, I would find that they rid themselves of those drug and alcohol demons and they were truly decent people. Clearly there is a problem.

By now what I’m trying to say is this territory needs better options. We need a treatment centre in Yellowknife and it should be a program that includes treatment for crack, meth addiction, as well as prescription abuse. I remind the Health Minister that this is truly an important issue in the public that needs...

I did have a chance to read the report and I was really glad that the Health Quality Council did it, and I want to commend them on their work and effort as well as acknowledge the staff from the Department of Health and Social Services on being involved on the ground floor to make sure our input was taken. But the report recommendations really focus on, in my view, is to once the plane gets to Edmonton and how they address those particular areas. My area of interest in my line of questioning here today has more to do with our internal process, the ones we can control and dictate. Like the old...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to acknowledge Ms. Maud Robinson-Spence. She’s my summer student and she’ll be working with me here at the Legislative Assembly and helping me do my duties as a Member for Yellowknife Centre. I’d like to thank her for joining the team and acknowledge her here today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed Bill 6, Forgiveness of Debts Act, 2010-2011, and wishes to report that Bill 6 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for that particular answer. I think he knows exactly the concern I’m on, and I think I recognize that in his response from the last questions.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if I need my fourth question. My third one will quite simply be: would the Minister be willing to have a meeting with some of the industry reps from the medevac community? Again, if I could coordinate them in a very succinct way that had solutions to fine tuning our medevac process or system, would he be willing to sit down with them and discuss these types of issues and perhaps maybe we can find a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like earlier today, a number of my colleagues both had statements and asked questions regarding the closure of the Edmonton Municipal Airport and the planes being diverted to the International Airport. As such, I think they thoroughly thrashed around the concerns about being involved in the process of the advisory committee.

I think the next phase of this particular problem, really we should use this as an opportunity and perhaps maybe a call to action to address how we run our medevac system, Mr. Speaker. Our health system would issue a tender and have protocols...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like my other colleague today, I’d like to speak about the Edmonton airport closure. The closure of the Edmonton City Airport has alarming implications on our medevac patients. Our medevac patients already face a very long flight from the NWT to Edmonton for help, Mr. Speaker. Now their transportation time from the airport to the hospital is getting much longer. To be frank, Mr. Speaker, access to timely health care emergency services is the single most important priority I have; as well it’s of great concern to many northern residents.

In the context of the changing of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was just hoping for a yes, he’d be willing to do that. But, actually, the Minister is correct about that last meeting, because I did bring in an industry rep a week ago just to talk about medevacs in general, and I was well aware of that particular meeting. Perhaps maybe what I could do is ask the Minister to commit to bringing me up to speed as to the information done in that dialogue with the group that take care of medevacs and to see if, once we digest that, there’s some input that can be offered, because I think the medevac community wants to be involved in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, ENR has now formally presented and proceeded with the new Wildlife Act. As we have all heard, there are many concerns from mining, outfitting and tourism industries. For the sake of observation, Section 87 of the new Wildlife Act states, “no person shall, without a licence or permit authorizing it, establish, offer or provide an organized activity for profit in which big game or other prescribed wildlife is the object of interaction, manipulation or close observation...” Therefore, Mr. Speaker, by way of example, if an Aurora Village tour bus happened to...