Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently there was a proposal for housing that had gone out and been awarded. Dozens upon dozens of people pulled the contract to look at it, and it boiled down to five people presented a bid and ultimately four out of the five were disqualified for that housing bid and hence there was one that remained. Now, I'm not here about saying one bid should matter over the other, and I'm not picking a bid or a winner, but the fact remains is that after the bid was awarded there's a thing called an appeal period. But the bid continues to be awarded to the one...

Thank you, Mr. Spooker. It's that time of year again I give my annual statement. And I encourage people to see it for what it is, a little humour into the Assembly, and hopefully the Cabinet isn't offended. And, certainly, that isn't the intent.

Mr. Spooker, in the theme of Addams Family, I'll start again this year, Mr. Spooker.

They sit there in their spooky chairs with powers they refuse to share;

Members eating day old spam while Cabinet feasts on suckling ham;

The Simpson Family.

They get their briefings and act like czars; they stuff their ridings with trucks and cars.

Cabinet sits and laughs...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have three written questions today.

The Government of the Northwest Territories continues to face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals, including physicians and nurses. As a result, locums have been and continue to be utilized by the Government of the Northwest Territories in health care delivery.

My questions are for the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services:

How many physicians who previously held full-time or part-time positions in the Northwest Territories have returned to work as locums in the past three years?

How...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Prime Minister has said clearly buckle up. And if nothing comes, is it the government's plan to start strategizing to build this type of educational funding into our current and future plans? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, would the Minister be very clear to this House that there is no appeal period; it's simply a whine, complain, and lick your wounds process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to return to the question I was asking earlier here. And I'm concerned about natural justice when we have five bidders, four have been disqualified, and ends up with only one. It's not about the fact that the individual company got it. It's about the process, Mr. Speaker.

So my questions now are directed to the Minister responsible for procurement Services asking about particularly around natural justice. Where is the fairness in having an appeal process that doesn't allow the individuals to actually appeal the contract that the government refuses to consider them...

Mr. Speaker, in the standard we use for hiring process, if there was a competition and the job ends up finding one winner and there's an appeal period, no one's technically awarded the job until that appeal period is going. Why is this so much different given the fact that it's the exact same concept except we award millions of dollars and we put millions of dollars at risk during the appeal period that we could end up paying for it twice in theory? Thank you.

It's up to the Spooker. Mr. Spooker, I too wish to say hello to and acknowledge my cousin from the Deh Cho, Michael Nadli. I was a former Member with -- or he was a former Member with me, or we were Members at the same time, however you want to put it. I know he's very passionate about the Deh Cho process, and I'm convinced that if anyone can help bring that process home to a completion, it will be him. Thank you very much for his hard work and care. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So as a collective, let's say it this way, we have Jordan's Principle money being lost and a number of students being impacted; we have teachers, assistants being impacted; and we have inclusive schooling in general at risk here. Does the Minister have the numbers of how many students are impacted by these financial, we'll say, changes that are at risk? And if she does have them, can she share them with the Members of the House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, a number of us were at a Yellowknife Catholic School Board meeting and they talked about their ability to, say, continue this year because they had, in essence, protected Jordan's Principle money, and that was simply by happenstance that they had a contract in place so the cuts didn't affect them directly. But they're recently quoted in the news of saying basically their funding is at risk if not -- yeah, their funding's at risk, a future risk. And knowing that the government is moving forward on wanting to spend current year money on Jordan's Principle money...