Glen Abernethy

I’ll pass that message along to the chair of the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority and have him strongly encourage the CEO to meet with the individuals the Member is referring to.

I hear the Member, and that is exactly the type of thing that is being done with this new pilot study, looking at new ways to involve communities and find alternate ways to provide services in communities and looking at local solutions.

I have also had an opportunity to travel around the Northwest Territories and talk to leadership, and every time I meet with leadership, I talk about the vacancies that we’re seeing across the Northwest Territories, and I ask them to work with us to encourage youth to pursue some of these professions.

As a note, some of these professions do have statutory...

We’re doing a number of things. We’re doing things in partnership with the Seniors’ Society as well as our other health and social services authorities across the Northwest Territories.

The Member is aware that we have recently opened nine beds in Behchoko. We are in the middle of constructing nine more in Behchoko. There are 18 beds being constructed in Norman Wells. More beds were put into Fort Smith. This isn’t just a Yellowknife problem. We know that the Beaufort-Delta has experienced some real congestion there as well.

With the territorial admission process that all residents who wish to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I and my Cabinet colleagues, as all Members in this House, are committed to the seniors of the Northwest Territories and obviously we want to make sure that our programs and services are meeting their needs. We as a department have Our Elders: Our Communities elders strategy which is focused on aging in place which ultimately does address or talk to the need for additional housing units or beds for seniors here in the Northwest Territories.

Avens is an incredibly important partner of ours and we have been working very closely with Avens to move their project forward. We...

As a government, we’re always looking for ways to train local people for local work, and if we have individuals who are in the system who would be appropriate for succession planning purposes, we often look at those individuals. But in some situations, I mean, it is frustrating, and I understand the Member’s frustration. If there is a statutory requirement for a job, when you need that in order to have a licence to perform the duties articulated within the job description, that can be a barrier, which is why we have to look at other alternatives such as this pilot project that we’re talking...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; there are a significant number of vacancies in the Sahtu and we recognize that it’s a problem and we’re working closely with the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority to find ways to fill these positions. There are active recruitments on a number of positions, and in some cases until we can find somebody on a more permanent basis, we have been filling some of them with casuals, but that doesn’t change the need to find permanent staff.

There’s a number of reasons that we may be having difficulties. Some individuals, some of those positions...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “NWT Patient Experience with Healthcare Services Report 2014” and “Measuring Success and Focusing on Results: NWT Health and Social Services System 2013-2014 Annual Report.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member is correct; the additional child amount is per day not per hour. As I indicated, in 2007 there was a review, and I’ve articulated the different criteria that were used to determine the rates that will be provided. Virtually every community in the Northwest Territories went up as a result of that review. Yellowknife was not one of them. There were three communities that did not change. Yellowknife is still at $24 a day.

As I indicated, we have taken the recommendation from committee and we are clearly looking at these rates that are provided and we are working very, very closely with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to clarify, yesterday there was an indication that rates have not changed for foster care since I believe it was 1996. This is in fact not correct.

In 2007 there was a review of foster rates done here in the Northwest Territories, and from the results of that review, the rates increased in most of the communities in the Northwest Territories based on an assessment of food costs, including baby formula, operation of automobiles and trucks, household cleaning supplies and other paper goods, personal care items, water, fuel and electricity, reading materials and other...

As I indicated, in 2007 there was an analysis done of the foster rates provided to all communities in the Northwest Territories and there was a number of criteria including cost of living, food costs, baby formula and operation of household equipment that were used to help determine that rate. That rate changed in almost community in the Northwest Territories. By way of example, Aklavik went from $35 to $43 a day, Deline went from $37 to $45 a day, Kakisa went from $24 to $34 a day. There were some communities that did not change. Unfortunately, Yellowknife was one of those communities that...