I know we always have discussions in this House about the cost of social programs, our high costs within governments and we go and look into our debt, this is a great investment and by all more places to have child care facilities and more people to access them, it’s only going to benefit us. I think the same goes for every dollar invested in child care or early childhood development is a $7 return. I mean why do we have to wait until the 18th Assembly to recognize that? It’s kind of concerning to me.

Another question I had in regard to the report as I’m discussing this is income assistant...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 56, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, on September 15, 2015. A clause-by-clause review was conducted the same day. The committee thanks the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

Bill 56 corrects inconsistencies in various statutes of the Northwest Territories and deals with other matters of a minor non-controversial nature. Following the committee’s review, a motion was carried to report Bill 56, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, to the Assembly as ready for...

I think it was more of a special diabetes clinic that did a lot of work. I understand the Minister talking about the videos and Screen Smart. As I mentioned, the CDA, Canadian Diabetes Association, recognizes that for diabetes care, it’s patient-centred and delivered by a multi-disciplinary team.

What specific training do they have in diabetes? Not videos or the Screen Smart assessment. You need that one on one. You need that interaction between somebody who’s trained.

What is the Minister’s plan to create a multi-disciplinary team that’s going to go to the communities to get this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions following up to my Member’s statement earlier dealing with chronic disease management specifically around the diabetes. I had mentioned there is an expected 200 new diagnosis every year of diabetes in the Northwest Territories. So, under our watch for the 17th Legislative Assembly, we had about 800 residents, NWT residents who were diagnosed with diabetes that could have been prevented under our watch of this government. Moving forward, when the 18th Assembly gets up and running, you’ve got to give them the tools, the knowledge and everything in order...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to thank the Minister and the department for working very fast on a recommendation from committee in regards to moving the child and family services committees.

This was a pretty long bill that’s been in the Legislative Assembly for many years and many governments, and when committee took it out and heard from the communities, there was concern that we were putting more responsibilities on the CFS committee and the communities. We also heard that there was only one that was actually working and that actually stopped all together, and I know people were...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Victims of Crime Act, on September 15, 2015. A clause-by-clause review was conducted the same day. The committee thanks the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

Bill 63 amends the Victims of Crime Act with respect to surcharges imposed and paid into the Victims Assistance Fund. The bill allows the surcharge amounts to be set by regulation and allows an offender to complete a work option program under the Fine Option Act as an alternative to incarceration for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its review of Bill 59, Estate Administration Law Amendment Act, on September 15, 2015. A clause-by-clause review was conducted the same day. The committee would like to thank the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

Bill 59 is an omnibus bill that amends four separate statutes related to estate administration: the Children’s Law Act, the Guardianship and Trusteeship Act, the Intestate Succession Act and the Public Trustee Act.

A primary intent of the proposed amendments is to coordinate provisions of these...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier, there are complications that arise from diabetes. I mentioned earlier proposing a tax on sugary drinks to offset the costs of more hospital visits, more dental appointments, more medication. To put that into perspective, I would like to ask the Minister if he knows what it costs for an individual in the Northwest Territories to deal with people who have diabetes in the Northwest Territories should they have to go through appointments for blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, lower limb amputations.

What are the overall costs to this government...

As I recall, we used to have a really effective Diabetes Program here within the department. It did a lot of work, a lot of outreach work, mobile work in prevention, education, did the screening, actually. From what I understand, the program isn’t up and running to the full potential that it once was.

I’d like to ask the Minister, what are his plans for this Diabetes Education Program that we used to have at the Department of Health and Social Services that did a lot of good work throughout the Northwest Territories and whether the full support is going to go back into that program. Thank you...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The main cause of death, disease and disability in Canada and the Northwest Territories today are chronic diseases and injury. However, a large proportion of chronic diseases, disabilities and injuries can be prevented or their onset can be delayed.

Today I’d like to speak to one particular chronic disease that we have in the Northwest Territories and that’s diabetes. Anybody that knows anybody who has diabetes or has suffered from diabetes knows that it can lead to such things as kidney failure, blindness, lower limb amputations as well as risk of heart disease.

Current...