Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's a good question. I couldn't say 100 per cent what the reason is. But I can say that in all the other community and region numbers they do include numbers for Health and Social Services. Whereas, in Hay River and Hay River Reserve, they don't because the Hay River Authority currently is outside the public service. They're bound by the same terms and conditions of our collective agreement and, I mean, we don't crack their summer student hires, so we have no numbers here for any summer students being hired within the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority. That...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Member is correct. We provide benefits for Metis people as a last resort, we're the last funder. We do encourage Metis people to pursue other insurance, if they have employer's insurance and whatnot. On average, it costs us about $2 million, as the Member has indicated, and we are ready to have discussions with the federal government. We know what we've paid over the past years. We mirror NIHB exactly for our Metis residents. We know what our numbers are. We're prepared to have that discussion once the time is right. In the meantime, given the ruling, but...

Mr. Speaker, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action highlighted the fact that there is a gap between the health status of Aboriginal people and the rest of Canadians. The recommendations call for all governments delivering health and social services to ensure that services are culturally appropriate and that service providers are culturally competent. The Department of Health and Social Services is committed to achieving that goal, and although we still have a lot of work to do we have made substantial progress led by the wise counsel and advice of a group of respected...

Mr. Speaker, I won't talk about my personal opinion here, but I can state that we actually do have that program available to us already for non-statutory jobs. We can actually go out and advertise on a geographically limited area for specific positions. By way of example, if we had a non-statutory position in Fort Res, we could actually run a competition within 35 kilometres of the community and limit it to just that zone, so that is a tool that is actually currently available to us. Some departments have used it. It is available to all departments, where appropriate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Regional Recruitment Program is actually being utilized throughout the Northwest Territories. I will commit to getting the House and the Member the exact numbers of uptake across the Northwest Territories. I can't say it is more successful in some regions than others. I believe we've only had one application in the Sahtu, meanwhile in South Slave we've had a number of applications. It is still being pushed; it is still something we believe will help make a significant difference in recruiting Northerners for northern work in those non-statutory...

Mr. Speaker, all the answers were in the Member's question. The Member has actually hit it on the head. That building costs us about $600,000 a year just to heat and provide electricity. On top of that, the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority does provide minor O and M. Public Works and Services is always monitoring the condition of that building. Should any catastrophic incidents happen in that building, a failure of the sprinkler system by way of example, as long as we're occupying, we would have to do that upgrade. The building was reviewed several times prior to the final...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the plan is to build a 10-bed facility; including nine long-term care beds as well as a respite bed, for a total of 10 beds and that respite bed can be used for long-term care actually dependent on the needs, so it's actually a 10-bed facility, not a nine-bed facility. A contract has been signed with a proponent who is in the process currently of developing a schematic, a design, as well as putting together the costs of the project moving forward. We anticipate getting that shortly or, rather, Public Works and Services anticipates getting that shortly. If...

Mr. Speaker, I hear the Member. I think it is important for us to be in partnership with Fort Resolution, but I wouldn't suggest that we should be developing the action plan. I think it would be better if we work with the community through their community wellness plans, work with them to develop a strategy that works for them. We could develop a strategy, but I would hate to impose it on any community. I would like to sit down with the Member and maybe the representatives from the community and talk about how we can work through the community wellness plans and build upon the important work...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Cancer Strategy actually does come with a number of items that are falling from the strategy itself. The strategy includes specific supports to help communities, help individuals, make healthy choices by focusing on healthy eating through gardening and education, continuing to hold sharing circles, which we have seen has been quite effective in helping people deal with the issues. We do have funding that we have provided to different communities to support tobacco prevention for youth. The strategy commits us to find ways to increase education awareness so people...

Mr. Speaker, within the community specifically, there are a number of things that are happening. The Department of Health and Social Services is funding the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority to provide things like the elders’ afternoon tea program for elders so that they have the opportunity to get out of their homes and access resources and avoid social isolation, which many seniors across the North can face. The authority is offering a variety of services in the community of Ulukhaktok to support elders, including assisting elders to complete forms and applications, some...