Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to say I will be voting in favour of this particular motion. I support any efforts to move this issue forward. Poverty is certainly a demeaning situation where people are struggling everyday to get out of it and we have to find ways to assist in the breaking of the cycle that is meaningful and productive. Mr. Speaker, I don’t think anybody in an impoverished situation dreams that dream. This is something this government needs to commit to with a focus of saying how can we help people to break the cycle, get up on their own two feet, and celebrate the...

I continue to get further disappointed, if it’s possible, on this particular case. We have a system that has approved people to travel. We have a system now that says, well, I’m sorry, our system doesn’t like this particular case, we’re not going to allow you to travel down for needed medical care. This is doctor prescribed care. This is not sort of somebody saying, hey, you should do this. This is needed care. It’s quite demoralizing when one day you go down for treatment and the next day you’re told, sorry, you don’t qualify. I’m asking for some empathy in this particular question. Could the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to continue questions with the Minister of Health and Social Services on the area of medical travel and services provided to our constituents. Part of the issue here is that we go to great pains to provide medical services to people who self-inflict particular issues to themselves, whether it’s through alcoholism or drugs. We have people with weight-loss problems and diabetes problems. who the Minister is saying are exempt from the policy. I think that’s wrong, because people are burdened with an unfair chance and we don’t provide them the support.

I’m trying to...

Thank you. Today in my Member’s statement I talked about the issue of organ transplant policy or, I should say, the lack thereof, and the difficulties some people have had following through in the process. That is pre-op care and certainly the medical travel process, as well as the follow-up from the post process, whether it’s about getting medication signed off, whether it’s getting the proper travel, about getting them back on time including loved ones. So, Mr. Speaker, I don’t necessarily blame the Minister in any way specific to this problem, but the Minister is well aware of this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to use my Member’s statement to talk about a frustrating experience that a number of Members in this House share. It’s about a bureaucratic approach that continues to drag success down when people are trying to do the right thing.

The issue I would like to discuss in this House is about organ donation in the Northwest Territories. Now, I know that we have a small population and that Stanton cannot provide the highly specialized transplant services that many people do need in the world. But, like most organ harvesting and transplant operations that do have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we can’t change the rates unless we do something different. Okay. Now, whether that means we change the rates to increase or change the rates to decrease, the reality is we have to do something different to change the rates. So, Mr. Speaker, if this analysis of this power rate review does not fully contemplate the option of moving the Power Corp into its position in line with the rest of the departments of the territorial government -- in other words, make it a full territorial department -- would the Minister commit that this is a consideration and costing...

I appreciate the answer from the Premier, but the point is you don’t ask the board if they want to dissolve themselves. That would be a political decision by the review team looking at rate review, and one of the analyses out of this process could be when they do rate review, we could probably provide more efficiencies and accountability in the rate review process if one of the recommendations was to roll it into a territorial department per se. Is that one of the issues being contemplated at the political level by someone in charge of the legislation such as the Premier and the Cabinet? Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the spirit and the intent of what the Minister is saying, but, Mr. Speaker, the issue really came down to things like the doctor said that this particular person needed an escort. Medical travel denied it. It took the Minister’s intervention to say, wait a minute, this is wrong. Down in Edmonton, the hospital said this person had to stay due to a follow-up because of the tearing of tissue if they moved too much. Medical travel denied that too. That is why I am asking for a clear policy that lays out when even doctors say something is necessary, they follow...

Mr. Speaker, as rare as compliments are from this side of the House, I should make sure it is very clear that the Minister was extremely helpful on this particular case straightening out. I think that needs to be acknowledged in this particular case. It can’t be forgotten. But the issue I am trying to raise, without trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill, is the fact that we don’t have a clear policy. Because when this particular family -- and I am aware of another family just starting in the process of the same type of issue -- is the lack of clarity on this. So we need a clear policy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize a couple people. First off I’d like to recognize Mr. Mike Vaydik, our executive director of NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. As well, I’d certainly like to do a special recognition to both Richard Morland and Kim Truter. They’re more than just leaders of their individual mining corporation; they’re also community contributors that make a difference in our Territories. Thank you.