Glen Abernethy

We do do that. As I indicated, when the Minister’s Forum on Mental Health and Addictions went out, we heard a number of things: made-in-the-North solutions, on-the-land programming, community counselling, all sorts of different options. People wanted a variety and a range of programs. Facility-based treatment is only one of those options.

We provide money to different Aboriginal governments and organizations around the Northwest Territories to have custom made, regionally specific, culturally appropriate made-in-the-North programs for our residents and those programs are seeing some positive...

Like I said, there has been some interest expressed by Avens to utilize that facility or utilize that opportunity to help them move forward with the expansion of their long-term care facility in Yellowknife. We’ve indicated we’re open to that discussion. If that is something that comes to fruition, obviously it might change our ability to do an open competition as Avens would be the builders and not necessarily us, so I can’t commit on behalf of Avens on how they intend to move forward with the procurement.

If that does not work, we will certainly want to have an open and transparent process to...

There’s money in the current fiscal year that we’re in today and this is money for ’16-17 that will take us through, hopefully, to conclusion of that project.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2011 the Nats’ejee K’eh Board funded an organizational review, which made many observations about the issues at the facility that impacted negatively on programs, clients and staff. We worked closely with the board to try to find some solutions. Unfortunately, they were unable to implement any of the solutions to improve the situation there.

In 2013 the executive director advised that no further intakes should take place due to the risk of client safety in that particular facility. When that happened, we were in no other position than to withdraw funding from that...

Thank you. The Department of Finance has taken the lead on the financing of this particular project as well as some of the monitoring and overseeing.

I do know, without question, that the staff of the Department of Finance did review those audits that were done in other jurisdictions because we wanted to make sure that we did not relive or redo the same mistakes that were done in other jurisdictions, which goes to the comment the Minister of Finance made later about some of the overseeing that’s being done on this particular project, some of the checks and balances that have been put in place....

Thank you. Here with me today are Debbie DeLancey, the deputy minister on my right; and Derek Elkin, the assistant deputy minister on my left.

At the current time on the Territorial Admissions Committee list for Avens we have 13 people on the wait-list to get into the Avens facility, so there is clearly a need. We know that when the facility in Norman Wells and the facility in Behchoko opens, we may have some opportunity to move some people back to their initial or home communities, which we are hoping will take off some of the immediate need on Avens.

But at the same time, as I’ve indicated, and I’m going to indicate again, we’re working very closely with Avens. We have a number of options and opportunities in front of us. We need to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We’ve been clear that this isn’t about adding any new services to the Stanton footprint at this point in time. It is a replacement of all the in-patient beds through newly constructed single patient rooms. There is a new larger emergency department allowing for more appropriate flow, patient engagement, things to help us address decontamination, isolation, those types of things. There is also a new larger medical laboratory with space for diagnostic imaging. We aren’t planning an MRI in there, but we have asked that the ability to add a footprint for an MRI be...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 69(2) and have Bill 68 moved into Committee of the Whole.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the numbers that the Member has put forward. I mean, they are department numbers. There is no question that the degree of increase of seniors in the Northwest Territories is going to be significant over the next number of years, but it isn’t just a Yellowknife problem; it’s a territorial problem and we have to look at this with a territorial lens.

We have been putting new beds for long-term care facilities in the Northwest Territories. We will have 18 beds in Norman Wells. We are going to have nine more beds in Behchoko, and we have put new beds in the...