Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hear the Minister and I’m not disagreeing with him, but I don’t think he’s hearing me. The issue is it’s not about what I believe, it’s what the public believes and perceives. The public is willing to pay their fair share. I’ve never heard any argument against that. The fear is that those costs will be unfairly passed on and unfairly distributed to the everyday consumer. All I’m asking is: What type of public consultation can the Minister provide some information in a form that makes sense to the general public so we can see and understand this?

I’d certainly take the information, but I think, in essence, it’s the public that’s more concerned. Not everyone has the time or energy or even interest to go to the GNWT website, let alone Transportation’s website. That’s not meant to be an insult; people are busy. The reality is that people are concerned about these tolls that are going to be coming forward and are they going to be excessively carrying the costs of the tolls. In other words, are the everyday moms and pops carrying the cost of paying for the bridge in an unfair manner? The one example provided is if it’s $250 per truckload...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When reviewing the WSCC claims cost summary, it’s become more than evident that the claim costs from 2009 tend to increase into 2010. They further increase in 2011 and they’re even at the same numbers as of September for basically on average for 2012, and 2012 is not finished.

With thousands upon hundreds of thousands of dollars going out the door because of compensation for medical, rehabilitation, pension and overall compensation, what brakes and alarms are being sounded on this particular issue? Are brakes being pulled? Are alarms going off? How is the government...

Mr. Speaker, with the alarming trends that point towards many claim costs, one particular envelope seems to be – I wouldn’t describe them as the shining example – the one we should be asking ourselves tough questions on what they are doing. The area I am speaking about is the health envelope. They represent 50 percent of the claims, 45 percent of the late filing penalty claims, as well as the overall cost to the claims under the WSCC.

With the trend of the health envelope being the worst offender on all three accounts, what is the Minister for Human Resources doing to help pull up the socks of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Minister of ENR was explaining earlier to me about lightning rods and I’d like to know how many lightning rod detectors we have in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

I appreciate the Minister recognizes the problem, which is now followed by my next question, which is: In the interim, is the Minister willing to cover the actual costs of both the physician and the medical travel costs? Because at present, what’s being budgeted is nowhere near sufficient enough to cover the actuals. That’s what keeps making this authority look bad when they’re doing a fantastic job. That’s the issue. Would the Minister see what he can do?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve often raised the issue of Stanton Territorial Hospital’s deficit, and over the years I’ve often said that it’s my belief that it’s underfunded and it needs a true and serious detailed funding assessment. Recently, I went to the public administrator’s open house to talk about this particular issue about how the hospital is running, and of course, I was very impressed with the work that they’re doing there. What stood out clearly are two particular issues. The first one is the physician costs and medical travel costs are put down on the Stanton Territorial Hospital...

Mr. Speaker, I look for clarification on the official record from the Minister. By all means, I really hope I’m wrong on this particular case, but I have been informed that community health nurses at their health stations have no ability to leave their station to provide health care if there’s an incident on the highway or within close proximity. Maybe the Minister could help shed some light on that particular case. If it is a rumour out there or misinterpretation, maybe he can help put that to rest. The fact is we want to make sure people are helping.

Are nurses hamstrung or nurse...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the need to support first responders. I was really highlighting about the importance in the communities, how they need that type of support. Without those first responders, whether you are in Ulukhaktok, Gameti or, certainly, Lutselk’e, first responders provide a critical role. If they are untrained, they put themselves as well as the person they are trying to help at great risk.

Knowing that every community deserves some type of support, is the Minister of Health aware in some manner or such of what type of program exists to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Yellowknife we’re very fortunate to have organized first responders in our city. I know I’m very grateful, as well as many other people in our city. However, not every community has this privilege, and for obvious reasons; sometimes it’s not feasible, but that doesn’t make it any more right and it certainly doesn’t make it fair. By coincidence, if you happen to live in the Tu Nedhe riding – that’s either in Lutselk'e or Fort Resolution – and just by chance there happens to be a terrible situation in that particular area, who responds? Who has the skills and...