SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Great Slave MLA Glen Abernethy was back at work Tuesday for the first time since undergoing emergency brain surgery earlier this month.

His first order of business focused on improving wait times and access to colon cancer screening.

"There are still a number of high-risk clients throughout the Northwest Territories who have been waiting for far longer than the standard three months," he said.

With some staff from Stanton Territorial Hospital moving to a new medical clinic, Abernethy said this could free up space for additional colon cancer screening.

Health and Social Services Minister Sandy Lee said the wait times weren't just caused by a lack of space, but also a lack of specialists. She said her department is looking into it.

"Part of the work we are doing is we're looking to see if we can offer that service not only in Yellowknife at Stanton but also in Hay River and possibly Inuvik," she said.

Abernethy asked the minister to commit to meeting with the Stanton Foundation to discuss fundraising options, to pay for space, office supplies and additional staff.

Ottawa an untapped resource for bridge financing

Ottawa is an untapped resource for Deh Cho Bridge financing, Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins said in the legislative assembly on Monday.

He asked Transportation Minister Michael McLeod why the territorial government hasn't gone to the federal government for infrastructure money.

"So has the government given up on Ottawa?" he said.

McLeod said the GNWT hasn't made any requests to the federal government since the last territorial government was in power. He said he didn't see a program that would allow dollars to be invested but agreed to look into it.

Premier should meet with Facebook group organizers: MLA

A Facebook group dedicated to protesting the high cost of living in Yellowknife has been gaining momentum with more than 1,500 members, and Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley asked what the territorial government is doing to acknowledge the issue in the legislative assembly on Monday.

Premier Floyd Roland said there has been no requests made from the group or the public.

Bromley said the premier should make an effort to meet them halfway.

"I hope we don't have to wait until somebody asks us to do something when we see a need out there," he said.

Roland replied by listing a number of GNWT initiatives, from alternative energy sources like wind energy and biomass to speeding up access to winter roads.

"There are many groups out there we meet with on an ongoing basis to deal with the core need or high cost of living issues," he said.

Bromley wanted to know what the government is doing besides giving money back to taxpayers indirectly. He said many programs will take years to implement, and asked when people will see programs on the ground and notice a difference in their cost of living.

"We can't keep studying these things to death," he said.

Roland replied by saying government processes take time.