Under the Act, any person assigned the responsibility to prepare such a report by the Public Guardian can become an assessor. This could be a nurse, it could be a psychiatrist, it could be medical practitioners, it could also be clinical social workers. So these are individuals that exist across the Northwest Territories, and we're looking at training people across the Northwest Territories to be assessors as one of our initial steps. But also we are looking at individuals outside the Northwest Territories, so it's both.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is a diverse workplace, with employees working in many different locations and in a variety of capacities. Regardless of the kind of work they do, all employees have a fundamental right to be healthy and safe in the workplace. Ensuring we have a strong, safe, and healthy workplace allows the GNWT to deliver key services and programs to residents of the Northwest Territories.

As the biggest employer in the Northwest Territories, it is important that the GNWT leads by example. By creating a safe and healthy work environment, the GNWT can...

It's 72 outstanding referrals, actually. The number continues to climb. There is a number of reasons that accessing the applications can take longer than would be desirable. Some of the challenges that we face are actually tracking down some of the individuals who have actually filed the applications. It's a transient territory; people are moving around. We've also had our challenge with the number of assessors, which we are addressing currently. There are individual situations where we have found members that are disputing who should actually be the public guardian or the private guardian. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member has indicated, the current wait list for the Public Guardian is unacceptable in all ways, and I have already directed the Department of Health and Social Services to review the business processes to make sure that the business processes make sense and we're getting the most efficiencies and utilizing our money in the best way. As part of this business process review, I have asked them to analyze how applications flow, assessments, referrals, and also do some trend analysis on the increased demand that we're having on the Public Guardian Office. This review...

I’m not going to commit at this time to covering fathers during birth, but I will certainly look at exploring the possibility of how we can be, you know, provide better support and other mechanisms. But at the end of the day, our medical travel is incredibly expensive. We have escorts for certain criteria. Criteria like a patient who is under 19 years of age who needs an escort. A patient who is breastfeeding an infant and requires an escort. A patient who has a medical or physical disability of a nature that they require an escort. There’s a lot of criteria that we have to apply and in the...

Mr. Speaker, unless there’s a clinical need, medical travel isn’t available or escorts aren’t available for birthing mothers who have to come to one of the centres, and it is up to the family, the father, to find their own way to the central location where the birthing is going to take place.

Mr. Speaker, we work in cooperation between the departments, and addressing family violence is a priority for the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Social Services. Education, Culture and Employment clearly has a role in helping break down some of this with younger people and youth, and the Status of Women certainly as a partnership. We work together trying to come up with mechanisms and programs that will help us break down the stigma and reduce family violence. I hear the Member. I’m not familiar with the program that she is describing. I’d certainly love to sit down with the...

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Department of Health and Social Services worked with the Program Review Office to develop a comprehensive evaluation of framework for the What Will It Take? campaign. Based on this framework, the new participation feedback forms are being developed, and they will be completed in time to provide to participants during the 201617 delivery of What Will It Take?, and that will help us get the information and evaluate the effectiveness of the program longterm.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a couple of individuals in the gallery today. My parents, Dick and Loretta Abernethy, are with us, as well as, all the way from Oxford, Nova Scotia, my aunt Diane Harrot is with us. This is the first time she’s been to the Northwest Territories. Welcome to the gallery; welcome to the Northwest Territories. It’s great to see you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled “Follow-up Letter to Oral Question 138-18(2): Hay River Long term Care Beds.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.