Glen Abernethy

In the last government, we made a commitment to K'atlodeeche that we would work with them so that they could obtain ownership of that building. The building is not a Health and Social Services asset. Once the facility ceased being an addictions treatment centre, the ownership of that building was transferred back to infrastructure, and they are working closely with K'atlodeeche to work out the issues around turning that building over to them. In the last government, we committed to providing the O and M funds necessary to keep that building in operation -- not programs, but the building itself...

Mr. Speaker, we know that mental health and addictions issues are top of mind for many NWT residents, and they are also a priority area in the mandate of this Legislative Assembly. To guide our work to address these important issues affecting our communities, the Department of Health and Social Services developed a Strategic Framework for Mental Health and Addictions Recovery in the fall of 2016. One of the important focus areas of the framework was to ensure that mental health and addiction services are delivered locally, with culturally appropriate methods. I am pleased to provide Members...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Follow-up to Oral Question 480-18(3): Airplane Crash Medevac." Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to food security, I think ITI is doing an awful lot of work for getting community gardens and other mechanisms in our communities. I think the commercial fish work that we are doing goes a long way to food security. One of the things that Health and Social Services do, and it is building upon the work that is being done by ITI, is we are modifying legislation to allow people to sell produce that they are growing in their own gardens. The next step will be finding ways through regulation policy to allow people to sell more complicated food like meats and other things...

Mr. Speaker, we heard clearly from the participants of the roundtable and also from individuals who submitted a number of written submissions afterwards, often encouraged by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre. There is a lot of input. A lot of suggestions have come in. We are trying to incorporate those. We can't accept them all just on face value. Some of them, we need to do a little bit more digging to see if they can be incorporated.

Our plan right now, Mr. Speaker, is to finalize the drafting here in the next couple of weeks and take it through Cabinet to get their endorsement to...

We have been trying to work closely with K'atlodeeche. In 2015, we gave them $44,000 so that they could hold a roundtable to help come up with some ideas and plans for how that building would be utilized. The report that I saw from them was about turning it into more of a wellness centre to provide a wide range of programs and not be dedicated to just one type of program. At that time, we indicated that we would like to keep working with them. If there was some opportunity for us to deliver some workshops or other things, wellness programs, out of that facility on a one-off basis, we were...

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the Nats'ejee K'eh facility, we have had a lot of discussion with KFN on that building. Currently the Department of Health and Social Services is covering the lease costs on that building for KFN, which equates to about $6,000 a month. The owner of the building is currently working with KFN to see about transferring actual ownership of that building over to them. I know that there are some issues that they still need to work on, on that.

With respect to the programming that KFN had intended and delivering those services, they talked about wellness programs and other...

Mr. Speaker, we have reached out, but at this point in time we haven't managed to increase a level of funding through partners, but you don't stop after asking once. You ask multiple times. We will keep pushing some of these organizations to see if they are willing to step up to the plate. Some may, some may not, but we will keep trying. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know that the Member is aware of this, because she has been involved in this file for a very long time, and I appreciate the work that she has brought to this particular issue, but this isn't just a Health and Social Services issue; this is a territorial issue. This is the responsibility of all people in the Northwest Territories, and there are multiple partners on that.

ITI is doing work around community gardens. Education, Culture and Employment is doing work around food programs for school-aged children. There is money through the anti-poverty fund. We are trying to make as much progress...

There are many things, and I think we obviously need to keep working together on this, but I think one of the key things is working with K'atlodeeche to actually get ownership of the building figured out and solidified. There are some issues, I think, on both sides that we are trying to address. We want to make sure that the building is in good shape when it is turned over to them and that we understood the magnitude of O and M costs for keeping that building running. I think that is one thing that we need to continue to work with them to get on. From Health and Social Services, on the program...