Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The long-term vision won’t change with anyone. Everyone wants the caribou herd to survive. Everyone wants the caribou to be around forever. The decision may not change, but the fact is they would be party to the decision. They would be involved into the discussion of the decision and they would also feel responsible because they would be part of the outcome. That’s the type of discussion I’m talking about. I’m talking about getting rid of southern style of consultation by making sure that everyone’s involved in the outcome. That’s why I’m asking for an immediate caribou...

The issue at hand here is that an emergency caribou summit should take place not just with the co-management but also with the affected Dene leadership and groups. That is the issue at hand. I’m not suggesting making the Caribou Summit, which I had the good fortune of attending three years ago, but ultimately the issue is let’s get people here immediately working together on a common solution or path. Would the Minister show some guidance to this issue of saying, I’ll do that right away and we’ll get on that right away and we’ll work together with these groups?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to continue to talk about the caribou issue today in terms of trust and relationship. Today I don’t want to talk about whether the decision was good or bad, right or wrong; I want to talk about it in the context of consultation as more than a fly-by, a coffee, a hey, how you doing? That is a southern mentality that has been brought up here for years when they speak to true Northerners and it does not work. Anyone here even for a short time can tell you that is not how decisions need to be made.

Last week I heard a wise man say, what good is a right if you can’t...

It sounds like good news. I just wanted to be clear on the squatter problem. Does the department have a zero tolerance policy on the squatter problem? So in other words, if someone builds a cabin out there, the stance from the department is consistent and clear, which is that person or family has to remove that cabin then apply and then see where the application goes at that time. Or do they just let it sit there and say, apply, we’ll figure it out and if your application approves, we’ll leave you alone?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a couple questions for the Minister of MACA regarding the freezing of the issuing of leases out in the area of Banting and Walsh lakes. This is an issue that the Minister is quite familiar with. He had met with several members of Yellowknife to hear the concerns of our constituents about squatters out there causing problems with people with legitimate leases who have applied for them properly, waited for the approval process, and then built their recreational properties. The freezing of any potential lease applications I think is a good step. I know several...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I was speaking to the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding some services and medical travel services that we send people to Edmonton. Of course I’m going to stay away from specifics because I know there is a small group of people. That said, I don’t want to try to identify them for privacy reasons, obviously. But there seems to be a bit of a number building that people go out for the specialized medical service. I’m wondering what the process is for the Department of Health and Social Services to start saying we should be bringing these specialists...

Mr. Speaker, I will accept that humble apology from the Minister, although rare but certainly welcomed. I wish more Cabinet Ministers could follow that direction. Mr. Speaker, I just want to be clear from a departmental point of view, does the Department of Public Works still support this process, moving along with this initiative by supporting the concept and program the COR into their tendering process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister agree that one-stop-shopping is more efficient and more cost effective to this government, on its ambition to make people more self-reliant and independent, than two stops? Thank you.

I consider that a very small error that really tries to find holes in the facts. The facts are that it cost a lot of money to create this transfer and it did create a lot of positions to support this transfer. That’s really the moral of the story. What’s going to happen with that?

To enable this transfer, some study or direction or consultant was hired and I’d like to know what that cost to do this review as well as what was the question they were considering. Was it to fix the program in its existing state or to find a way to return the program to the way it was before?

I can only imagine what that will now cost.

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As you can see, the confusion continues. Mr. Speaker, we don’t have an endless pot of money, and I still think that the program initiative had foresight for the future as to what should really be going on. Mr. Speaker, ultimately our government should be supporting self-sufficiency and self-reliance, and having people go to one centre, a service centre of excellence to help people move forward on the initiatives that they need to get on their own feet was the best idea possible. It’s unusual for government to come up with a clear and simple...