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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
MLAs accused the territorial government of brushing aside residents' concerns about arsenic at Giant Mine last week after it was revealed that a joint submission by the federal government and the GNWT following an environmental assessment hearing last month found that the "remediation plan is not the source for long-standing concerns about Giant Mine."

The federal government and the GNWT submitted the closing comments to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board weeks after the final public meeting in September. Both Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley and Frame Lake's Wendy Bisaro spoke of attending public hearings in Yellowknife and the number of people who aired concerns about many parts of the current clean-up plan, which calls for 237,000 tonnes of deadly arsenic trioxide to remain buried under the mine potentially forever.

"Dismay and skepticism with the remediation proposal, its delivery and monitoring are exactly what public, aboriginal government and NGO concerns are all about," said Bromley during his member's statement last Thursday.

Bisaro said that the final submissions did not reflect her opinion or those of her constituents. She asked Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger why the government would stand behind the statement. Miltenberger said the Giant Mine cleanup is a complicated project that has been in the works for decades.

"There are a multitude of opinions but in spite of all that we are trying to move forward in the best way possible," he said.

Miltenberger committed to bringing staff working on the file to a legislative assembly committee to discuss the work that has been done to date and any decisions made if MLAs were interested.

How will bridge tolls affect consumers?

Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins asked Transportation Minister David Ramsay on Monday how tolls charged to commercial traffic crossing the Deh Cho Bridge will be felt by the general public.

The $202-million bridge across the Mackenzie River is scheduled to open on Nov. 30. At that point, commercial vehicles such as transport trucks will pay a toll of between $91.25 to $291.25 for single-use permits, although monthly remittance agreements are available for a lower cost. Hawkins said his constituents were concerned that these costs will increase the already high cost of food and other goods in Yellowknife.

Ramsay said companies such as grocery stores will enjoy significant savings once the bridge is in use because they will no longer need to stockpile food or fly produce across the river during freeze-up and break-up.

Stanton patient priorities

Stanton Territorial Hospital needs to do a better job of taking care of long-term patients, Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny told the legislative assembly on Thursday.

Dolynny gave the example of Allisdair Leishman, a man who stabbed himself in a hospital kitchen in 2009.

Leishman suffered serious brain damage and other injuries after stabbing himself twice in the chest at the hospital. He continues to reside at the hospital and receive care.

The man's mother, Margaret Leishman, has said that Allisdair does not receive enough care at the hospital, specifically physiotherapy treatment. Dolynny said there is a problem with the way the hospital prioritizes patients.

Often, out-patients receive priority for care over in-patients who are in long-term care, he said.

"I say the solution is relatively simple, re-prioritize your patients," said Dolynny.

"That is, make sure your long-term care in-patients who need this care most are taken care of first before we deal with less urgent patients."

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