Bill Braden

This, again, Mr. Speaker, is a continuance of a sad legacy that our government has had over so many years. What we are abandoning here, Mr. Speaker, are 15 years of investment by this community, not just a government contract, but the schools, the medical people, the NGOs that are part of this. That’s what we are abandoning. Will the Minister understand that this is what is at stake here?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My colleague Sandy Lee has already recognized a number of the seniors here. I welcome them all, especially my mother, Esther.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a special welcome to a young lady who is visiting us from France by way of Concordia University, Ms. Elsa Biais-Sauvetre.

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Elsa is visiting the family of Sue and Norm Glowach in connection from several years ago when her sister was here in Yellowknife as an international exchange student, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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Mr. Speaker, while the Minister is adamant about moving this program, even in the midst of the confusion and uncertainty about how it is going to be done, will he do what the 700 people who signed this petition asked for, and that was to continue this service in Yellowknife? Why does it have to be abandoned?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My colleague Sandy Lee has already recognized a number of the seniors here. I welcome them all, especially my mother, Esther.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a special welcome to a young lady who is visiting us from France by way of Concordia University, Ms. Elsa Biais-Sauvetre.

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Elsa is visiting the family of Sue and Norm Glowach in connection from several years ago when her sister was here in Yellowknife as an international exchange student, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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You know, Mr. Speaker, I and I think at least some of my colleagues here would be ready to work with the Minister to establish a transition here that where a service can be established in another community I certainly don’t want to stand in the way of it, but I would return to that essential duty that we have to supply a badly needed service as close as possible to the people who need it. That is why these 700 people asked for this service to stay in Yellowknife. Can the Minister find a way to help us achieve this, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for Mr. Miltenberger, the Minister for Health and Social Services, concerning the continuing saga of the potential, alleged kind of relocation of the TTC. Mr. Speaker, over the past number of years the GNWT has had a dismal record of residential programs for those suffering from addictions and mental disorders. In part this is because we have not been establishing the services where they are most needed, let alone, Mr. Speaker, because so many of them have failed to keep their doors open. The Minister himself has said in this Assembly...

You know, Mr. Speaker, I and I think at least some of my colleagues here would be ready to work with the Minister to establish a transition here that where a service can be established in another community I certainly don’t want to stand in the way of it, but I would return to that essential duty that we have to supply a badly needed service as close as possible to the people who need it. That is why these 700 people asked for this service to stay in Yellowknife. Can the Minister find a way to help us achieve this, Mr. Speaker?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It's been estimated that here in the Northwest Territories some 8,800 people have or will experience some form of mental illness or addiction disorder in their lifetimes. Further, Mr. Speaker, it's been predicted that the number and complexity of these disorders will increase significantly, with service demands up by 50 percent. This was an estimate made eight years ago, Mr. Speaker.

For those individuals and their families, a sad reality is that our government services have actually been badly eroded over the past decade. Here in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, we've seen...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for Mr. Miltenberger, the Minister for Health and Social Services, concerning the continuing saga of the potential, alleged kind of relocation of the TTC. Mr. Speaker, over the past number of years the GNWT has had a dismal record of residential programs for those suffering from addictions and mental disorders. In part this is because we have not been establishing the services where they are most needed, let alone, Mr. Speaker, because so many of them have failed to keep their doors open. The Minister himself has said in this Assembly...

Mr. Speaker, we seem to have a couple of options here. A number of the clients who try to get into this kind of program are on income support and there is really no provision for them to cover the extra expenses that they might incur. Meanwhile, we obviously do not allow ABE instruction on the same basis for funding as regular student financial assistance. Has the department been able to look at whether or not we can change our minds about SFA and help enrol these people on that same basis and help them get further ahead, Mr. Speaker?