Great Slave

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 51)

It really depends on the job. Homecare nurses must be registered nurses. We have also got homecare LPNs. They must be LPNs. When it comes to home support workers, normally we need somebody who has got some skills in areas related to resident care or other things. There is some training that is available in the Northwest Territories, but, personally we believe that's a job where we can train on the job. We have the regional recruitment program that we are certainly willing to use to train people to do those jobs on the job, without necessarily coming in with the skill set prior.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier in this Assembly, we had a large amount of money put into homecare. We used those monies to create a number of positions. There was more money allocated than the positions that we had identified, and we had been trying to use those monies for different programs.

Unfortunately, there was $600,000 that was lapsing. Recognizing that we were going to be lapsing the $600,000 in this coming fiscal year, we had to make a decision on where we could get best bang for buck on those dollars, and it was decided to put them in, for this fiscal year, to Child and...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 50)

I would strongly encourage the Member to check his e-mails again because I do believe I followed up on that when he raised these concerns. Our intention is not to wait to provide that information to the regional wellness council first. Our intention is to get that information available to both parties who ask, which are MLA and regional wellness council, they both asked the same information, but to get to the information as soon as we can. However, at the same time, Mr. Speaker, I am strongly encouraging the Member to attend the next regional wellness council, where staff from the department...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 50)

Mr. Speaker, there is no role for the members of the regional wellness councils to provide information to MLAs. The regional wellness council members exist to provide input and guidance on the delivery of services at authority level, and they provide that information both directly at regional level but also through the leadership council up to the board. I do, however, encourage engagement among MLAs, community members, and regional wellness councils, given the shared commitment to improving health and social services in the Northwest Territories, but the regional wellness councils do not...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 50)

I love the Member's passion on this file. This is a file that I have some passion for, as well. I do encourage Members to attend regional wellness council meetings. They are public. Anybody can attend them, and there are usually great discussions to these. So, please, all Members, attend your regional wellness council meetings.

Mr. Speaker, I did attend a meeting with the leadership council in the spring, and the leadership council did express some concerns with how information is flowing to and from regional councils. At that time, I committed to the chairs that I would attend each of the...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 50)

Mr. Speaker, there is no such thing as black and white in many of the things that we do. Many of the questions that come to me from MLAs are very complex in nature and require expertise at the front-line level, which requires us to go through our staff to the deputy minister's staff, to the authority's staff, to the front-line providers who are the ones who can provide us with that information. I do my best to endeavour to provide the MLAs with indication if answers are going to take longer than the standard five days, but in some situations, given the complexity and scope of the questions...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is an orientation manual for the regional wellness council members on their roles and responsibilities. The handbook is updated on a regular basis. It's currently being reviewed to include updating information around additional guidelines and whatnot to make their jobs better understood and more clear. This will be shared, obviously, with the regional wellness councils across the Northwest Territories. There is a training session coming up where we are inviting all regional wellness council members to come in for an update and to be familiarized with...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 49)

As I indicated, there are several different ways for information to come in and different levels that it can go to, which means that there are several different ways for that information to come back.

If the Regional Wellness Council member is seeking just generic or general information from the chief operating officer, the chief operating officer can provide that directly to the council member or have their staff do so. If the information has been escalated up through the chair to the board, the information will pass, then, through the chair of that particular wellness council to the wellness...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 49)

Generally speaking, members receive their orientation at the beginning of their first appointment. This helps to get them familiar with the roles and responsibilities of the council and how to engage with the public and also with the authority. The leadership council, which are the chairs of the regional wellness councils, I met with them in the spring and they identified that ongoing support for the regional wellness council members is something that is really important to them. The department and the authority are presently developing some options to help increase refreshes and other...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a few constituents from the Great Slave riding with us today. Ernie and Beatrice Bernhardt are with us today, as well as Daryl Dolynny, who is a former member and current CEO of Avens and a resident of the Great Slave riding. Thank you.