Great Slave

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 28)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member in his statement actually identified a significant amount of the work that’s actually taking place in the communities. We do have the NWT Help Line which is available free of charge to all NWT residents, and, as the Member said, it is confidential and anonymous and is available 24/7. The department continues to support health and social services authorities to offer different courses and different services in the community such as the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training which is often referred to as ASIST, and the Mental Health First Aid...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 28)

No, Mr. Speaker. Any services that the clients or the residents in Aklavik have, that they require to leave the community to go to either Inuvik, Yellowknife, or Edmonton, those things are still scheduled, still appropriate and medical travel will still occur.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 26)

Mr. Speaker, I won’t commit to that at this time. I will certainly give it some consideration. I do want to remind the Member that these regional wellness councils are not political bodies. They are not bodies intending to provide politics around health and social services. They are intended to help tailor programs and customize programs to meet the needs at a regional level. I will have to think about that one. I think all of us would like to keep these bodies away from being political bodies.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 26)

Mr. Speaker, the intention is to provide all of the regional wellness council members throughout the Northwest Territories orientation into the new system, how they will fit into the new system, how people across the Northwest Territories, including Members, understand the new accountability structures that are in place and that address the Auditor’s General report, and much of that training will be taking place in the regions where those regional wellness councils are currently located. I can’t confirm a date. Those dates haven’t been set. But they will be taking place through the summer and...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 26)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 5, An Act to Amend the Vital Statistics Act, be read for the second time. This bill amends the Vital Statistics Act to remove the requirement that a name registered for the birth of a child be written in entirely Roman alphabet, permit a single name determined in accordance with the child’s traditional culture to be registered on a child’s birth, and permit a person to amend the designation of sex on a birth registration statement without undergoing gender reassignment surgery. The bill also includes...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 26)

Mr. Speaker, the role of the regional wellness councils starting August 1st, and ongoing, is to do exactly what the Member is talking about. It is to work with the territorial authority on territorial programs, but also how do we customize or tailor those programs to meet the local community and individual regional needs. Those policies will be done, probably, ongoing for the rest of the life of this new structure because changes do take place. It will take time. The councils will be involved on an ongoing basis. As new programs come out, they will be required to help us design a local...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 26)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a lot of work has gone into preparing us for the August 1st deadline when the new legislation takes effect. Last week, we notified the upcoming members of the different regional wellness councils who were nominated, including the board chairs. We will be bringing individuals together to provide some upfront training prior to the go-live date. Significant work is being done right now on organizational design, identifying the positions that are being required, and how the linkages will work between the existing authority today and how they will all work...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled “Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 13-18(2): Northwest Territories Disability Action Plan.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 25)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 5, An Act to Amend the Vital Statistics Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 24)

As the Member indicated, there are currently 68 individuals in the Northwest Territories under a public guardianship, and there are about 80 individuals that are under private guardianship that had to go through the full assessment process. The Member is right; the numbers are increasing, with the 72 referrals in front of us that will likely result in some additional individuals requiring either public or private guardianship.

The first step that we're taking, Mr. Speaker, is doing the review of the program to make sure that it's efficient, that it's meeting the needs, what changes we can make...