Alfred Moses

I know, in the Housing Corporation, it’s always hard to house people who are single. That might be an option, is to have a single-unit facility or also multi-family units that can be built. Moving forward, I know there is a long list of people on the housing list, people who are in market rental units.

Would the Minister be open to having a community consultation with key stakeholders as well as concerned residents on what we should be putting on that land? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has been a long budget process and, as I mentioned, one of the concerns that were brought up, talking to some people at the Skills for Success conference symposium that’s going on, were some of the barriers. One of them is housing. In Inuvik we do have a Blueberry Patch and I know it’s getting demolished, possibly this summer. I understand that that responsibility has shifted to the Housing Corporation from Public Works and Services.

I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation when he expects the demolition of the Blueberry Patch to start and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned back in February of 2013, I asked then-Minister of Health and Social Services about the right to a second opinion. He mentioned that they were hiring a policy officer to review the health benefits. The review of a second opinion is within that review.

I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, what is the update on that review of the health benefits? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank all my colleagues who spoke in support of the motion. It is a very important issue that we have in the Northwest Territories and right across the North and Canada, and I think the direction we’re giving to government is the right step to address this issue. I did mention earlier about all the different organizations working on, when a death occurs, the work that they do. This feasibility study will bring all these organizations together to understand that, yes, we’ve got to work together, we’ve got to make the recommendations so that it stops now...

WHEREAS the Northwest Territories has the second-highest rate of violent crime in Canada;

AND WHEREAS numerous deaths have been caused by domestic violence in the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS risk factors and long-standing patterns of abuse are typically evident before domestic violence results in death;

AND WHEREAS the purpose of a domestic violence death review committee is to establish a forum for experts, community advocates and family members to study trends, risk factors, and systemic concerns and to recommend changes that will prevent future tragedies;

AND WHEREAS death review...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned in my Member’s statement, a person’s health and life is at stake when we go this route. I don’t think putting ourselves at a financial risk should be the indicator for seeking a second medical opinion. The policy in itself is a barrier for this second medical opinion. He mentioned, and he is going to say again when I ask again, that I’ve stated that it’s in our policy that we will reimburse upon return.

I am asking the Minister if he would look at reviewing that policy so we don’t reimburse upon return, but be able to support someone to go seek that second...

I would like to thank the Minister for that very comprehensive response to a second medical opinion. They’ve done a lot of work and I agree that residents shouldn’t be afraid to offend any medical practitioner or physician in seeking a second medical opinion. He did mention something and I was going to ask a question in terms of the lack of physicians in the Northwest Territories in some of the regions and the medical costs. He understands the situation we are in, where some of the regions don’t have physicians and we have locums who continue to come through.

Would he be looking at reviewing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On February 22, 2013, in Committee of the Whole, I asked the then-Minister of Health and Social services, during the review of the main estimates, questions on the right to a second medical opinion. There were some good questions and there were discussions of the review of the right to a second medical opinion. I bring this forward again today only because I’ve had discussions with people who were concerned about their medical results and their diagnosis and weren’t sure if they were getting the right treatment. Every resident in the Northwest Territories should have...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We did make the comments in the House yesterday when we read the report in. I do have a motion, Madam Chair.

I move that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are very honoured to bring this motion forward. We don’t have to scratch the surface very far to find family or domestic violence, which has very devastating impacts on individuals and communities.

Family and domestic violence almost never occurs without warning. In most cases there have been repeated incidents of violence and indicators of risk as well as opportunities for agencies and individuals to intervene before death.

It’s important to try to understand the factors that lead to such tragedy and lead to needless deaths when intimate relationships take a fatal...