Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to hear the Minister isn't defending smoking in public housing units. I said I'm glad you aren't defending. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I guess two parts to it is why are we waiting, and is there exemptions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about encampment fatigue, Mr. Speaker. And to be clear, a lot has changed in this particular narrative. I remember even speaking to some constituents, you know, a year ago, fervent supporters of that, and as those encampments get closer to their area, it's funny how quickly that feeling changes and frustration.

Mr. Speaker, people care about the challenges, but they also want something done. The community is facing these challenges of unsanctioned encampments. They see problems where they threaten public health, safety, quality of life, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, colleagues.

WHEREAS section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act permits the appointment of the Information and Privacy Commissioner by the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories after the approval of the appointment by resolution of the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly considers the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner essential to exercise the powers and perform the duties under the Act;

AND WHEREAS the term of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is expiring;

AND WHEREAS the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, October 23rd, 2025, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that pursuant to section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, that Mr. Andrew Fox be reappointed for a term of five years as Information and Privacy Commissioner;

And further, that the appointment be effective November 23rd, 2025.

And, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services here. I received a phone call a few days back about somebody being released in the care of one of the wards, the psych wards, here in Yellowknife. Now, it's not specific about this individual but the concern about the care of custody back into the community, and the parent who called me about this issue is that they said when their child is released, they're literally dropped off at the day shelter. So, they go from full services and supports, clearly, I mean, I won't go at length, but what...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won't go at length. My whole statement talked about the shot in the arm of adrenalin we need. So when can that initiative see the light of day where we'll get funding or our proposal will be reviewed for funding on this type of initiative? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of strategic infrastructure, and I believe I'd like to focus in on specifically what I raised in terms of my Member's statement.

Mr. Speaker, when I raised the issue that the West Kitikmeot region is pushing a project, that it's on the second-tier list of the major projects list, industry -- local industry, even NWT industry doesn't see themselves as part of this sort of important venture that the territory needs, that adrenalin shot in the arm basically to our economy. Mr. Speaker, what can the Minister do to assure that our...

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the problem is people show up there wanting to get their samples processed and there aren't enough staff to actually, as I said earlier, take the samples and analyze the samples. What happens to the samples that can't be analyzed locally? Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that. I want to return to the topic of walk-in clinics and, of course, this is not an extensive list of the people that work there, but there are people who take the samples and there are people who review the samples, and that's pretty much it. But, Mr. Speaker, when people arrive at 7:30 in the morning, there's long lines, you can't make phone calls because no one answers the phone, there's no chairs so people with mobility issues are standing there and struggling, and there's way more people there than the slots available for doing that. What...

Can the department provide the breakdown of where those EA positions were lost or prescribed to in the context of where the $14 million is supporting the 172 hopefully to return?

And lastly, is there any accounting for that -- when you do that exercise, can you also inform us on the accounting of how many have actually returned?

And I'll wrap this up, Madam Chair, because time's running out, and I guess my questions are too, but the point being is in this money, you know, we wish it could have been -- we wish the conversation could have started in June, and even if it -- in this particular case...