Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, let me say it very clearly: MLAs want input on this survey. Rather than doing a survey without any consultation in this House…. It’s nice to hear that a survey is going on, but I didn’t hear when this was going to come forward. I didn’t hear about consulting MLAs or any details about that. These are some important issues that need to be decided in this House, and if we are going to do a survey, we should be having input from this side of the House to make sure it is effectively done.

Would the Minister ensure that MLAs such as myself have input on this survey? If this is done in...

Mr. Speaker, if there's a review going on, I'd like to know what the review means. Does the review mean you're going to go to an independent survey? Does it mean you're going to create questions, or you're going to check with students? What is the definition of a review? Does it include the staff, the management and the bureaucracy of Aurora College, to make sure we're delivering safe and effective programs for our students?

One of the consequences of decentralization is that even where we have good intentions, it may not work. Such is the case when concentrating Aurora College programs at the Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith.

As much as it pains me to say this — and it does — the Thebacha Campus is not meeting the needs of all Northern students. I’ve had concerns from constituents brought forward to me who fear for their personal safety because of the incidents of violence and intimidation in Fort Smith. This causes them to change their mind and refuse to want to continue training at the Fort Smith College.

How can we...

Mr. Chairman, sadly, the only function we have on this side of the House in these particular cases is to delete. I would much rather put a motion forward to defer it, although that is not a function of this House.

My issue here is that we’re running out with $500,000 of more planning money. I think this should be an item in the potential budget that will be brought forward in the May-June session. Mr. Chairman, really, the issue is about how this is being fed to Members. As far as I’m concerned, there needs to be further coordination between other facilities that are being beefed up in that...

Mr. Speaker, as always, I try to regularly make special mention that it is Red Friday.

Today I feel compelled to speak again to the issue of aftercare and follow-up for clients with addictions. I must confess that I am perplexed by the Minister’s answers to the questions earlier this week. A finer defence of the status quo I’ve never seen. As the Minister stated, individual responsibility is a major component of recovery in healing from addiction. I do not disagree with that statement. What I find puzzling is the Minister’s harsh resistance to what seems like a simple, inexpensive yet...

Mr. Speaker, this only begs one more element to this combination. Obviously it’s nice to see a Minister working with a Member and hearing the cries from this side of the House — and hasn’t forgotten us, by the way. But I’d just like the reassurance from the Minister that he will include the N.W.T. Tourism Association in on this as well as, as he had mentioned, the Minister of ITI. Finally, would he make sure I’m included in some type of release when they do this? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, about a year ago I raised the issue of the N.W.T. licence plate and how its tagline says, “Explore Canada’s Arctic.” My concern at the time with the Minister of the day was the fact that it’s not truly reflective of our Northwest Territories in present times. The good Minister of the day had agreed with me, and it sounded like the department was moving forward full steam ahead on updating the licence plate with a suggestion I brought forward, “spectacular.ca.”

My question to the Minister of Transportation is: where is this project? Assuming that it’s still going forward, when can...

Again I cite that we’re probably reading from two different two-page letters, because this letter also says that they encourage me to advise my constituents that they call, and they have to initiate some obligation on their part. So this is a one-way letter, not a two-way letter, which I talked about. Communication. Communication works both ways. The Minister keeps reaffirming, “We do this,” but their letter proves they don’t.

Would the Minister look into this program and have a chance to maybe review this letter that she’s written to me?

Mr. Speaker, I highlighted a number of good places that treat addictions, and they do follow-up. In Minnesota my office has spoken to people at Aftercare Services Agency, and they do follow-up treatments. Bellwood highlights and red-flags people that they need to continue to follow-up through phone calls.

Mr. Speaker, has Health and Social Services in any way done any type of analysis on how much good a follow-up treatment program would do for people by a mere phone call?

I’m glad the Minister understands it clearly that I in no way am suggesting to change the shape of the licence plate; it’s only the tagline. My concern is that it’s not happening soon enough. The issue, I can clearly hear, has good buy-in, but it’s not moving fast enough.

My question really is: when can we see some results of this work? When can we expect to be able to see cars driving around the Northwest Territories that say “spectacular” on the back of them? When can we see that work?