Frederick Blake Jr.

How will the department assess the feasibility a piloting of patient advocate in a Northwest Territories community?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last August, the community of Aklavik lost one of our Inuvialuit elders to a stroke. This elder's access to proper and timely medical care was delayed. A critical incident review was started soon after, led by Cree doctor Marlyn Cook. That was almost seven months ago, Mr. Speaker.

Last week, the Minister of Health and Social Services updated this House on that critical incident review. It made 16 recommendations to the government. These recommendations ranged from making sure staff review and understand current rules to proposing a specialized stroke centre...

I know the Minister answered part of this just now, but I will ask the question anyway. In the absence of a patient advocate, how will the department ensure the service gaps I identified earlier will be closed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a couple of questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. The Minister said last week that many of the recommendations line up with work the department is already doing, that existing work clearly fell short in August 2016, instead. What new changes, what new work, will the department act on in response to this review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a follow-up to my Member's statement. I have a few questions for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation. I would like to ask the Minister: will the Housing Corporation reclassify the modular units in Aklavik to add to the community's public housing stock and get more people into homes of their own? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the extended deadline for the NWT Housing Corporation's housing survey passed last week. I hope that every Northerner who wanted to was able to access that survey. It was definitely a hot topic at my constituency meetings.

In fact, my constituents have a lot to say about housing, and no wonder! In each of the three communities of the Mackenzie Delta riding, roughly one in four houses is in core need.

Think about the toll that takes on daily life in a small community.

We cannot lose sight of that, Mr. Speaker. When we talk about surveys, policies, or capital...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is it safe to say that the project is on schedule? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That is good to hear. The housing survey closed on February 27th. What are the Minister's next steps to take action on what they have learned?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Despite the fanfare, two of those units are now sitting empty. They are empty because rents of $1,400 or more per month is just not possible for the people that actually need housing.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is clear that setting those units aside as market rentals is not working out. My constituents know how many Northerners are stuck on the housing waiting list and they have a solution: make those units part of the public housing program. Get more people into homes now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will have questions later today.

Can the Minister provide a status update on the project that is introducing a singles four-plex into Aklavik?