David Krutko

At this time I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for the bill if she’d like to make any opening comments. Ms. Lee, Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is in regard to the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik. This facility was built in 1978 and is now 30 years old. It is a level 3 facility, which provides 24-hour care for elders in Mackenzie Delta, Beaufort Sea and surrounding communities. This facility has provided a very top level of care for our seniors, our elders, a lot of whom have passed on. It is that sense of love and caring that only the Joe Greenland could provide. Over the 30 years a lot of people have worked in this facility, a lot of elders have lived out their days in this facility, but we...

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my statement, these facilities were put in place back in the ’70s so that they could provide elderly care in the regions I mentioned: Fort Resolution, Behchoko, Deline and Fort Simpson. Those were regional facilities. The facility in Aklavik is a regional facility. It also provides employment to people in the region and in those communities. I think that we also have to not lose sight that this is more than just simply building $10 million or $20 million facilities and regional centres so that you can fill them up with people from communities. That should not be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services with regard to my Member’s statement. Like I mentioned, the Joe Greenland Centre, which is a level 3 facility, is now 30 years old. I know that in previous years — and I’ve been looking through the capital budgets — there were dollars allocated to do a major retrofit on this facility. Now I see it’s nowhere to be seen in the books, yet we’re building new facilities. We’re building dementia centres; we’re building care facilities in the larger centres.

I’d like to ask the Minister where this department is going...

Mr. Speaker, we can see through the budget process the number of dollars being expended in facilities, especially in the larger centres, and I’m talking about the dementia centre and health care facilities like the Northern Lights Special Care Home in Fort Smith. There is very little by way of government direction for elders in the Northwest Territories. There were facilities built in Aklavik, Deline, and also in Fort Resolution and Behchoko so that people can be taken care of in the regions. They can stay close to home and family members.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These facilities provide employment to people in the communities. With the social problems we see in our communities, where people are leaving our communities because they can’t find jobs and whatnot, this government has a responsibility to ensure that we provide services in communities, not all at the regional level. That’s exactly what I’m hearing from the Minister. Everything we do in the Mackenzie Delta, we have to go to Inuvik for our services. That should not be the case.

I’d like to ask the Minister again: when is this government going to decentralize programs...

Mr. Speaker, I don’t agree that the residents from my communities have to go to Inuvik for elderly care. If anything, I want them to remain in their communities and these facilities to function in our communities so they’re able to be provided with that service in the communities rather than having them exported out of our communities, because the elders do play a critical role in the social development of our communities.

So again I’d like to ask the Minister exactly when we are going to see some capital investment in the Joe Greenland Centre in Aklavik so that it can be brought up to safe...

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize Mr. Tom Beaulieu in the gallery.

Laughter.

Again, we are moving to get these facilities in, but we do have some logistical challenges, as you know. Most of our communities depend on iceroads. I think it is important that we do everything we can to ensure these projects stay on track, that they don’t get derailed and we don’t miss another season. Again, it’s 2010, so I assume that they are going to be coming into Tuk in March.

In the meantime what work is being done to develop the particular site that these facilities will be located on and to also get the sites ready way in advance for these? I understand that these are portable units...

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give me a breakdown on exactly how many times these notices have been given in regard to the shortage of nurses in the Beaufort-Delta communities so we can see how often the nurses aren’t available versus being available and also the movement of nurses from one community to the other just because of the fill-in?

I’d just like to ask the Minister: can we get that information as to exactly when the health centres are on emergency watch versus the communities that are functioning versus the communities that aren’t?