Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that relationship already existed before this Premier took office. So the Simpson government has created the new position of doing less as the appearance of doing more from the sounds of it. Perhaps maybe he can explain how this is actually better, because the previous relationship worked just fine but we've taken away the symbolism, the prominence, the emphasis of a Minister responsible for seniors. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm rising today because I want to talk about Northerners living healthier, longer, and retiring in the North.

Mr. Speaker, it is a shifting demographics and makeup like the seasons in nature, people's lives similarly follow their own course. People travel from their spring to their summer to the fall and even to the winter cycle of our days. Each journey is different, and each journey certainly has its own supports and needs. We need supports through independence, care, but always through respect as we go through these stages.

Mr. Speaker, seniors are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is I see the program is closed for people to make their applications to apply for the program. Why did it close so early before at least the very least, that is, the end of the fiscal year? And I want to understand why they closed it and when did they publicly announce it so it's transparent to people? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wasn't quite clear, and maybe no one else was, is how are they actually tracking these particular things, because Yellowknife Centre can't be the only riding who gets these questions from constituents, and I'm seeing nods here. So, Mr. Speaker, does the Minister track these things, and how are they monitored to make sure that they close the loop on these applications? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to ask the Premier when he finishes drafting the letters, will he share them with Members, and will he table them before the House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, then there lies the question what direction is being given to the public service for the last three months and 20 days? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too wish to lend my voice to recognize the gentleman who is so well known to us, Mr. Anthony W. J. Whitford. He's many things to many of us, but very importantly to me he's been a friend for a very, very long time.

At the same time, I too wish to recognize Mr. Lafferty, or the grand chief for the Tlicho region. We go back to when we were kids. And he's a wonderful gentleman, and I'm glad to see him in the leadership in the Tlicho communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let's use some easy numbers. The CERB payment was about $2,000 a month. That's about $500 a week. So the fire was about three weeks, and so if we use their $750 mark, that's 250 a week. So there's quite a bit of a disparity. There's a standard, a considerable one. But CERB was during COVID and people stayed home, so they didn't have to worry about driving out. That said, how can we justify and explain that $750 was an impact payment worthy of the expense that many people paid considering they pulled the government ordered people out of the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to follow up a little further on the evacuation travel support program. And I suspect now, the Minister was saying I didn't expect the question but that said, to be all fair in all fairness, she is the Finance Minister of this government and the last government and oversaw the programs, so I expect her to know some elements of the program.

So that said, the evacuation support program paid out $750 to people as a onetime sort of payment. How did they actually come up with that specific $750 for the impacts of individuals obviously per vehicle...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And by the way, I apologize, earlier I just restated the question, so it might have sounded like two. Mr. Speaker, my question the Minister says they track them, so then why do we have the department saying that they've issued payments when they haven't if they're tracking them?