Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ever so briefly, I want to recognize and acknowledge all the incredible interpreters we have here. I would certainly say to some degree they are all my favourites; however, Mr. Speaker, I have one favorite who is just a little more favorite, and that happens to be Ms. Sarah Cleary. She's here, and she interprets Dene Kede, and I'm certainly grateful to call her a friend as well a constituent, and I appreciate the hard work she does here every day we sit. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First off, I want to thank union firefighter Chris Bittrolff for initiating this initiative, I guess I'll say it that way, by bringing it to my colleague from Range Lake. Once that dialogue got started, you know, it was easy to understand how important this particular initiative is. We tend to forget and just maybe sometimes take certain industries for granted. And it's no one's fault, which is you always know they'll be there when you need them, but sometimes we have to ask ourselves are we there when they need us. So, you know, as we hear the fire or the alarms or the...

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for recognizing me. I have two documents I would like to table. The first document is a press release from Avens community for seniors, and it's the press release regarding the concerns about the -- articulated through their after-action reports. And of course, the second set -- back of the page is contact names, where you can contact them directly for the actual report. So I'd like to table their press release.

The second item I wish to table before the House today, Mr. Speaker, is a draft motion. It's called Remuneration of Essential Staff During an Evacuation. It's a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've got a couple written questions. And I should say thank you to the clerk's office for their assistance.

Mr. Speaker, the first written question is: Staff Turnover and Vacancy Rates. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services:

What have been the annual turnover rates and vacancy rates for physician specialists, including orthopedic surgeons, in the Northwest Territories since January 2023?

Please break down the total vacancies by:

Resignations;

Retirements; and

Unknown reason departures.

Indicate the average time to recruit replacements; and.

Indicate...

Mr. Speaker, what is the plan to communicate this to Members and the public, and is there a way to get this sorted out before the weekend? Because we have them steeling fences now, and it's been reported to the RCMP. I have the file number. Mr. Speaker, is there a way to get this into action before the weekend before more destruction and safety become compromised? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, all the Minister would have to say is that she'll issue an email or instructions or whatever language she wants to use -- I don't care, it's fine, I'm fine with that -- that she'll issue some awareness that they need to ensure before they officially award the contract that these numbers are reviewed because it's taken four months, in January to now, for them to find out the details of why they weren't successful, would she be willing to issue that direction to ensure it's issued in the most fair and reasonable way? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker; I appreciate it very much. Mr. Speaker, my question will be directed to the Minister of Finance regarding most recent bid on the liquor operations here in Yellowknife.

Mr. Speaker, a local bidder had bid on this project, and they -- their scoring seems to be quite subjective. I wrote an email because of the significant urgency on this. By the time they closed this contract, we don't want it to turn into a legal problem.

Mr. Speaker, by way of example, under northern experience, they got 50 out of 50, Mr. Speaker. But under local BIP, they got 1.8 out of 50. And under NWT...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I talked about the envoy yesterday, and I wanted to continue where I left off.

Mr. Speaker, as a reminder, just to set the table as they say, Ontario's budget is $232 billion. The GNWT hides in its shadow being 1 percent of that. But the Ottawa envoy is $140,000 a year. Mr. Speaker, the Quebec budget annually is approximately $166 billion. In round numbers, that's about 1.3 of our budget, in comparison to them, Mr. Speaker. So in other words, they pay their envoy $140,000. How are we seeing in comparison, in any straight line, why is our envoy worth $440,000...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not really hearing the government wants to do anything other than wait. Are they going -- is the plan to wait and sit this out, or is the plan to actually engage and try to put better options on the table so businesses, the community, will feel safe again, Mr. Speaker, and a responsible place for them to go could be quickly identified on NWT lands. Will the Minister -- or sorry, will the Premier step up, maybe even meet with these people, and to have this conversation? Thank you.