Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I won't be singing my questions by the way.

So, Mr. Speaker, diabetes in the Northwest Territories are certainly, you know, well above the national average. As a matter of fact, groups like the Metis have some of the highest diabetes affected in the context of ethnicity. NWT Indigenous women are certainly well above the Canadian average. And, Mr. Speaker, our regional centres suffer enormously with the high levels of diabetes and the lack of care.

My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is how is she planning to change this narrative by...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to acknowledge at the beginning this is a very difficult motion for some people out there. I feel very strongly in support of the current motion as now amended, and I too wish to lend my supports and the voice my voice to hopefully carry to a new phase.

Mr. Speaker, I deeply believe that one day, I wish it would be sooner than later, that we had a fully safe Palestine recognized by the world all around so the people can deserve and who have well long waited and earned their right to live happy, safe, and free.

Mr. Speaker, the conflict itself, I'm no expert in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, second by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, to amend Motion 2320(1), Call to Uphold Human Rights in Gaza, by inserting the following clause after the second whereas clause:

AND WHEREAS this Assembly recognizes through the Government of Canada's designation that Canada has listed Hamas as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code since November 2022.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the Member for Mackenzie Delta to amend Motion 2320

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, upon that analysis, would the Minister be willing to take it to FMB to expand services and support programs to the communities and regions based on that type of information; will she become the new advocate? Thank you.

Well, it's a twopronged question, Mr. Speaker. The same question by the way. But, you know, it's the sense of the accessibility to diabetic supports, and without revisiting the earlier questions, it's about wait time getting a doctor to supply the information in the context of diagnosis and treatment of those supports. So, Mr. Speaker, my understanding is Yellowknife's the only area you can get dialysis and other types of supports for diabetic care. And I'd like to ask the Minister, again, is how is she going to expand this type of support services to those communities and regions to ensure...

Mr. Speaker, my loving wife is extremely clear on this next point. I cannot carry a tune, and for that I may even end up calling a Point of Order on myself, Mr. Speaker, so I in advance apologize unreservedly of what may come next. Mr. Speaker, I shall begin.

Mr. Speaker, first I was afraid. I was petrified. I kept thinking I could never live without the Members on my side. I spent so many sleepless nights thinking about the Simpson government and how it could go so wrong, but that's just wrong, Mr. Speaker, because we're all here to get along. Mr. Speaker, we're back in this great place, and...

So exciting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't contain my excitement. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, my next set of questions is targeted to the -- I shouldn't say targeted, but being offered ever so kindly to the Minister of education. And so during the campaign, a lot of the teachers complained about the BC curriculum coming in because the lack of foresighted training for -- and prep for them. So in other words, they're being handed these packages of saying hey, now good luck, and they had to implement it. Mr. Speaker, what can the Minister of education do to help support these teachers who still...

Mr. Speaker, we're not really talking about a lot of students here. We're literally talking anywhere from 10 to 50 students who need to go beyond that $60,000 cap, Mr. Speaker. What's the Minister's apprehension, really, at the end of the day for expanding the cap? Because we know it's not a lot of students, and she would have the numbers of how many exact students would be attending. So what's her apprehension? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm excited to ask the next batch of questions to the Minister of education.

Under the Student Financial Assistance Act, section 10(3)(a), so that doesn't mean much to the public, but what it is is it specifically points out to the cap of SFA provided to Northerners attending post-secondary school, Mr. Speaker, which happens to be $60,000 in total. That's your total cap of what you can take.

So, Mr. Speaker, recognizing the costs and ever changing needs of Northerners seeking education and recognizing the fact that we want to support Northerners to get education and even...