Frieda Martselos

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS Members of this and previous Assemblies have expressed numerous concerns about the Stanton Territorial Renewal Project and the impacts it may have on the long-term fiscal well-being of the Government of the Northwest Territories and the people it serves;

AND WHEREAS, at a cost of $750 million over 34 years, the Stanton Territorial Hospital Renewal Project is reportedly the largest capital project ever undertaken by the Government of the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories reportedly overlooked to include in the project...

Madam Chair, I'm not really satisfied with that answer. We have a lot of retirees and aging population and seniors in the community of Fort Smith, and I would like to make sure that the Housing Corporation would reconsider making sure that Fort Smith is part of that planning process, and they are included.

I am very much about accountability and transparency, and I want to just ensure, Madam Chair, that, with the local housing authority, that we ensure the needs of the community, and service from management at the local housing authority is that they serve the public, and I want to ensure, Madam Chair, that all the programs and services that are offered by the local housing authority should be advertised.

I also, Madam Chair, would like to ask a question on the home ownership program. The lease-to-own, how do they determine the assessment, the value of the actual home ownership program, on the assessment value of the municipality? How is that determined if an individual wants to enter into the home ownership program? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Speaker, my motion today on the P3 Stanton Renewal Project is about ensuring that public funds are being used for the right reasons. In speaking to this motion, I would like to reiterate my previous statement on the Stanton P3 project, which I spoke about a couple of weeks ago in a Member's statement.

Following the public technical briefing on the new Stanton Hospital, which took place on February 11, 2020, officials within the Departments of Health and Social Services and Infrastructure confirmed a series of pervading issues that have been plaguing the new building since it opened in May...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a former chief of Salt River First Nation, I don't speak the native language because my father was a very strong leader within the Indigenous groups up in the Northwest Territories. He developed the first Aboriginal organization in the Northwest Territories in the early years and very, very strong and spoke the Chipewyan language. I never got the privilege of learning that because he always thought that he didn't want us to speak it so that, when we went to school, that we did very well in school because he always thought it would be a burden to us. I only wish that...

Mr. Speaker, today, I'm going to talk about the need for more addictions and after-care services for the people of Fort Smith and the NWT. The NWT has been without an addiction treatment centre since June 2013. As an MLA, I firmly believe that each and every family has experienced a family member, a friend, or has been privy to information about a problem of being addicted to some form of drug, alcohol, or other substances. We are a small territory, and we have some excellent workers who are very committed to the problem and to the clients they serve, but there are gaps in the system that we...

Integrated Case Management comes under Justice but has underlying effects with addictions in clientele who are affected by not being able to get into the mainstream of society. Would the Minister consider working with the Justice Minister to ensure that both the Fort Smith and Inuvik regions get the Pathfinders to work with their regions and communities?

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Addictions are a major setback in the NWT. We have among the highest levels of addictions per capita in the country. Would the Minister consider adding more treatment centre options to our clients to ensure that we're covering all different types of scenarios that deal with addictions?

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted