Robert Hawkins

Thank you. I believe the Member for -- well, the Minister is calling me -- or implying in some way that I'm implying some type of negative implications or describing me in a negative way, that I'm implying something terrible. And I take offence to that. I don't have my book here to quote the actual infraction number, but it feels as if there is some type of motive -- false motives being implied. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't be asking questions regarding ratios because my colleague from Great Slave had raised it the other day, and it seems like it's moving forward. But I'll focus in on the administration process and the analysis.

Mr. Speaker, during a public committee hearing, one of the questions I had that never got answered was our health care czar is travelling far, wide, and whatnot, up and down wherever, and from wherever apparently -- that causes issues with individuals but I'll recognize that -- that despite that they're a publicly appointed administrator, I would like the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Premier's now identifying him. I said you can hire someone from Regina. We have had many people in this House reference who he is so if we want to get to specifics, we can name him, but we're not here to name people. Particularly, I think it's a far stretch, and we can't keep talking about these people and pretend they don't exist. It's a reference, and that's the point. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from words in the community, so I'm going to thread this needle carefully of course, that there's concerns that they -- the board may be dissolved or the authority may be dissolved based on the fact that they don't like the position the board has taken.

Mr. Speaker, is the department putting pressure through the superintendent with this particular position, and if the board wanted to address the superintendent, who is really in charge; is it ECE, or is it the board? Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too am going to join in on the question regarding the DEAs in this Fort Simpson and the DDC in the -- DDEC in the region, Mr. Speaker. So for those listening, Mr. Speaker, just to clarify, of course, this problem applies equally across the NWT to all elected authorities and councils, so it isn't just a Fort Simpson issue. It's a Yellowknife issue. It's a Smith issue. It's a Tu Nedhe issue. It's a territory issue.

So, Mr. Speaker, my question here, to be very focused here, is strictly built around this simple premise and clarification that's needed. The...

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...

And thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last one.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that pursuant to Rule 9.4(5)(a) that the Government of the Northwest Territories table a comprehensive response to this report, including all its recommendations, within 120 days or at the earliest opportunity subsequent to the passage of 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.