Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, the day shelter services are so important here in the city and they do help a lot of people. But the reality is, if it’s going to keep being run into the ground by the same bunch of people, we might as well just stop, refresh our mandate and policy, and ask ourselves why do we do this and how do we do it right.

Why doesn’t the Minister just say, let’s take this money that we’re committing into going forward, shut it down and put out a real proposal so we get the services we need that help people who need services such as the day shelter provides, rather than allowing it in its...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to ask some questions. I’m going to follow up on some questions mentioned by Member Bisaro. She asked about the downtown day shelter. What I found very odd was the fact that the Minister of Health and Social Services is now saying they’re going to continue the existing vendor to run that facility. With all the concerns and issues that have been raised and the coverage on that particular facility on the quality of the way it has been run, why is he just sort of rolling it over and going to another year contract with the same vendor?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use this opportunity to thank Minister Miltenberger for his fifth budget to lead the territory. Mr. Miltenberger brings forward a steady as she goes budget and that’s typically the way he runs the ship: pretty straightforward, not that fancy. When I hear a strategy about two years of belt tightening and then two years of spending, I liken it more like he’s going to be the Grinch for two years and then, hopefully, be Santa for two more years after that.

The primary concern I heard that I think resonates deeply amongst many Members, of course, is revenue growth...

Thank you. What the Minister basically said is the public has to go and complain and complain, but the problem is quite obvious. Members can speak quite loudly and clearly.

What is stopping this Minister from taking some action to show the consumer that they actually care about the fact that they work hard for those paycheques? Because right now what I’m hearing is let’s do nothing until they really complain and we have to. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the gallery, I would like to recognize Ms. Lydia Bardak. She is always a stalwart attender here at the Assembly, so I want to thank her for her interest; as well as Mr. Krutko, a good friend and former colleague; and finally, last but not least, I would like to recognize the great Anthony W.J. Whitford, a constituent of Weledeh but a constituent who belongs to everyone. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table a page from the Yellowknifer, Friday, February 1, 2013. The article is quoted, “MLA Alleges Misspending for Travel.”

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be quick. I do want to return to the fuel question and build upon what Mr. Bromley had said. I want to stress, earlier I did appreciate the answer by the MACA Minister and I think credit is deserved where credit is due. He did agree to do this. He’s now listening closer to my question because I gave him credit.

The issue is, yes, in regulation those considerations take time, but one of the problems is today. Does the Minister have powers within his scope as Minister, who does do consumer protection, to be able to look at this situation? Because if you read the...

Thank you. I’m going to acknowledge and thank the Minister for that openness to take a look at it, but I will disagree with him in the sense of the process and problem. New Brunswick, PEI, as well as several other places do this. So hence there is a model that exists. The question is: What does he actually mean he’ll do when he says they’ll take a look at this? Of course, he also has said he’s well aware of this problem highlighted in the newspaper. So the fact is we’re being disadvantaged, if not taken advantage of, by retailers. There is a public role in this, Mr. Speaker, and I expect the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Dan McTeague in today’s Yellowknifer says basically the price of fuel in Yellowknife should be around $1.16. He highlights about a 22 cent difference that who knows where that money is really going. He emphasizes about a two cent difference that should exist between Yellowknife and Hay River, not 17 cents as of today or 26 cents as of yesterday.

So my question is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, but rightly so, as the Minister who is responsible for consumer protection. So my question quite clearly is this: Would the Minister be willing to take the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Prices at the pumps, Mr. Speaker. Who is protecting the public’s interests? The government can no longer stand idly by on this particular issue, so let me finally say, government, welcome to the file.

While prices continue to ratchet up, they move down like molasses in the winter, and as we all know, most of them tend to be frozen like our winter. The cost of living is a burden on everyday Northerners. It’s well beyond the tipping point, as we’re all well aware. So where is the McLeod government when it comes to monitoring and protecting the public’s interest on this...