Glen Abernethy

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services continues to be committed to improving the health and the lives of Northerners. To achieve this goal, Health and Social Services, along with the Tlicho Government and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, submitted a proposal to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to establish a Strategy for Patient Oriented Research SUPPORT unit in the Northwest Territories. In February 2016, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research approved funding over five years to the Tlicho Government to establish this unit. This funding is made available...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On my right is Lisa Cardinal, the director of planning and evaluation with the Department of Health and Social Services, and on my left, Thomas Druyan, who is legislative counsel.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to action plans that are across departments, like the Youth Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan that is coming, we do work closely with our partner departments to make sure that whatever we are proposing is reasonable and feasible across the Government of the Northwest Territories. I do take the Member's point, and we do need to work to ensure that our front-line staff, including teachers, social workers, income support workers, and others who may have direct contact with individuals who are struggling are aware and can identify the signs...

When it comes to addressing mental health issues and challenges across the Northwest Territories, there are a number of stakeholders and partners involved doing really fantastic work. Bell Canada is doing a significant amount of work to create awareness and encourage people to talk about the challenges that residents are having, and there are other organizations like Sport and Rec Council that are delivering training as well.

I am not as familiar with the program that the Member is talking about today. I have asked the Member to provide me with some details on the program so that I can share...

I am a little reluctant to speculate on a timeline. There is a significant amount of work that needs to be done. The position job descriptions need to be written. They need to be evaluated. They need to be incorporated into the complement of positions that are out there. Then we do have to go out and staff those positions and that can take a bit of time. Once we do have the positions filled it will likely require some training for individuals to make sure that they're providing the high-quality service that we want to make available to residents throughout the Northwest Territories. I can say...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have already talked a little bit about the comprehensive review of homecare services that are being planned for 2017-2018, and this is going to help us make informed decisions in the next round of business planning on how we're going to invest to support aging in place for seniors and persons with disabilities. However, Mr. Speaker, we do know that there are some pockets of documented unmet demands for homecare services in many communities through the Northwest Territories. Recognizing this, we truly appreciate the $2.5 million allocation that was issued...

As I have said several times in this House, we are currently doing a continuing care review and a review of homecare services that are planned throughout the Northwest Territories to support residents to age in place as much as possible. We have talked about different models that might be used, whether it is family support or community support. Once we are done that review and we have an actual plan in place, we will be in a better position to figure out what, if new partners are out there, that might be able to assist us in supporting seniors to integrate and be part of their community, as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Avens let us know on October 2016 that they were intending to suspend operations of the program. They also at that time expressed to us their intent to redesign the adult day program to better meet the needs of clients that it serves and to address any quality and safety concerns that were raised. A working group has been established with representatives from Avens, the department, the territorial authority, and they are conducting a review of the Avens day program, and they have been doing that since late January 2017.

The working group has completed the...

There are a number of different things that we're doing. We have the ASIST training as well. That is available to Education, Culture and Employment. I know Education, Culture and Employment takes this very seriously as well and is looking at providing different types of supports in their school system. We are currently working on a Youth Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, which we are hoping will help strengthen us and the services we provide in this area.

I will go back to Mental Health First Aid, Mr. Speaker. This is, as I have indicated, a Canadian program. In the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mental Health First Aid is one of the programs that we offer throughout the Northwest Territories. It is recognized internationally as one of the best practice models out there for tackling mental health issues, and we make it available to all residents across the Northwest Territories. In-house, we do have training for our staff about our particular programs and services they provide, but that is for staff that we have within the Health and Social Services system. As far as training we provide to other GNWT employees, I would have to check with the...