Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have thought about this motion quite a bit actually. I think to myself, why couldn’t I support a motion that requests an audit? I have no issue with that on that principle, because many projects deserve a second look going over and whatnot. I think it deserves probably that respect and due, especially considering, respectfully, the number of questions that have come out of this whole process.

Mr. Speaker, I also question the value of this, considering that the Auditor General has already been requested once before and rejected doing the special audit. As the Premier...

The Premier raised the issue of power purchase agreements. Those are all well and good. But to date I have yet to see these power purchase agreements. As I said in my Member’s statement, if they are such a great deal for the diamond mines company, they would drag us to the table kicking and screaming and make us sign them with them. The point being, Avalon wants to sign a deal, Fortune mines is interested, the City of Yellowknife has a life of in perpetuity that we could be hooking up. Don’t forget about Dettah, Ndilo, Behchoko, Whati, and many other customers that we could create a grid with...

The Premier did not talk about how the public interest has a position in this. The public interest was not discussed in his answer about how the public interest gets represented. If we represent a one-third interest in a corporation outside of the territorial government, that’s way beyond arm’s length, then the public interest is lacking. What is stopping the Premier from evaluating fairly and strategically with all the proper information about the route that we’ve discussed in this House, which is either over the Simpson Islands or under the water? What is stopping this department of NWT...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. It’s with appreciation I recognize Paige Elkin here in our Assembly.

[Microphone turned off.]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Where are the power purchase agreements? That really is the question. Where are the diamond mines who are willing to sign on the dotted line and say they are willing to buy power at ‘X’ rate? Where is the proof that they are behind this project? That could settle a lot of uncertainty today.

Earlier in a response to Mr. Abernethy the Premier was touting the GDP growth because of this opportunity. To be honest, GDP growth in the Northwest Territories is all either theoretical or useless, because the piper being paid is Ottawa over the Northwest Territories. Yes, people are working, but those who are getting the money from the resources and those revenues go straight to Ottawa.

The Premier says this is all based on a business case. I’d like to hear the Premier explain to this House where the money will be coming from for this potential project as we all well know this is worth way...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess some of the fundamental questions I really have, have to do with what’s actually changed. You know, I see this as we head out in two processes. The first one being the idea one that obviously isn’t going to happen, which was everything was funded and paid through the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and obviously that isn’t going to work, but fundamentally the payments I thought the government would be responsible and paying for would be somewhat similar if we ended up being in the circumstance that we are in today. So in other words, now that we’ve taken the debt on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to table an article from a magazine called Bridge Design and Engineering. It’s a UK magazine and someone had brought it to my attention, so I’d like to table the article regarding the Deh Cho Bridge Project. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister did not answer the question. What stops the Department of Health and Social Services from creating a policy in the medical travel directive that recognizes respite and uniting families through such difficult processes? What would stop the Minister from creating a policy to recognize these challenges that wouldn’t probably be needed very often? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about my concerns with the Medical Travel Policy. To be very specific, we don’t have a policy that works with the families that help them go through the medical transplant process, and the policy does not support parents beyond the initial one that travels down.

Mr. Speaker, my question directly to the Minister of Health and Social Services is: how does she see the present Medical Travel Policy accommodating the extended family that needs to be there through trying times such as this? Thank you.