Jason Unrau
Northern News Services
Monday, February 12, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins questioned Health Minister Floyd Roland over Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Centre funding.

"The fact is we've been paying them for no service," said Hawkins.

According to Hawkins' calculations, the 107 day strike amounted to more than $500,000 of the $1.8 million annual contract Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority (DHSSA) outsources to an Alberta company.

Roland said, "the cost of (maintaining) the facility remains the same whether there's clients going there or not."

By road and by air

Rookie Transportation Minister Kevin Menicoche took some heat from Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay over NAV Canada's decision to move NWT weather information to North Bay, Ont.

Menicoche agreed to request that NAV Canada hold another public hearing on the matter. On the subject of an all-weather access road to the diamond mines and Tlicho communities, MLAs Michael Miltenberger and Jackson Lafferty requested Menicoche sit down with Tlicho Grand Chief George Mackenzie to discuss the project. During the exchange, Menicoche said $1 million was to be released to study the undertaking.

Nunakput MLA Calvin Pokiak then took the opportunity to query Menicoche on the all-weather road linking Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. Both projects have been on the drawing board for a number of years.