Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A universal newborn hearing screening program was introduced as part of the GNWT’s Early Childhood Development Action Plan, 2001-2004. Stanton, the audiology department there has been delivering the universal newborn hearing screening program since June 2004, which is called the IHP, or the Infant Hearing Program.

This program is delivered at all birthing centres in the Northwest Territories and aims to identify infants with permanent hearing loss by the time they’re three months old and provide the necessary services to support communication development by the time they...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We’re actually on track to finalize an action plan, and the action plan will include outstanding items from the department’s response to the 16th Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Social Programs report commitments made in response to the March 2014 Auditor General’s report and longer term actions designed to bring about fundamental change in how we support families. We had committed to finalizing an action plan in June, and we are reviewing the recommendations in this Standing Committee on Government Operations’ report and we want to ensure that all...

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services and Yellowknife Health and Social Services aren’t in this alone. We do have a relationship with the City of Yellowknife who has, to date, contributed $50,000 per fiscal year. On top of that $50,000, the health and social services system here in the Northwest Territories contributes an additional $250,000, $175,000 from the mental health and addictions budget and $75,000 from the anti-poverty budget. So, combined with the city, there’s a $300,000 budget to operate this facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, I will move that Bill 29, Human Tissue Donation Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the winter session I think I clearly articulated that we are intending to open the shelter in September. But before we do that, we have a significant amount of work to do.

The shelter just about closed down earlier this year, and we worked really hard with Yellowknife Health and Social Services to find a provider to keep it open until May. That provider has provided us with some additional data that’s going to help us figure out the best course of action for the day shelter.

A couple of things: the building that the day shelter was located in has shut down and it will...

Mr. Speaker, I’m certainly happy to sit down with the Minister and have that conversation, but I’d like to encourage the Member to maybe join us. It is an issue that the Member has brought forward and I think it might be better for the Member to hear it from the Minister himself. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, every day, seniors across the NWT make important contributions to their families, their friends and their communities.

We don’t always give them the credit they deserve, but recognizing June as Seniors Month in the Northwest Territories and June 15th as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is one way to show our appreciation to NWT seniors.

Today we are wearing purple boutonnieres to raise awareness about elder abuse and its many forms, financial, emotional and physical. I would like to welcome and recognize members of the NWT Seniors’ Society and the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society present...

Mr. Speaker, all employees of the GNWT currently have access to our Cultural Awareness Training program offered through HR, which does include history, treaties, and a significant amount of information to help all employees understand all people of the Northwest Territories.

But I hear the Member; it’s certainly an interesting point and I will explore it. I don’t know if it’s possible, but it is an interesting idea and I would like to follow up on it and I will follow up with the Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Contribution agreements already require the health and social services authorities to comply with applicable laws and policies and that every payment is conditional of the fulfillment of the authority’s obligations under their agreements.

This clause, I feel, is specific enough to cover what the committee is asking for in the committee’s proposal, but obviously more is needed. What is needed is better enforcement and better monitoring. I’m concerned, or rather, realistically, withholding funding from an authority is not necessarily the answer. My focus and the department’s...

Having the data would obviously help us make better decisions with respect to the safety and well-being of our residents when they are in southern facilities. I don’t know the cost of a survey like this, but it’s certainly a good idea and I will talk to the department to check the feasibility of doing something like that, recognizing that we are a little tight on finances right now but I like the idea of having the information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.