Jane Groenewegen

If I were the Minister of Health and Social Services and I were managing a department in the Northwest Territories that did not have a single youth treatment for drug and alcohol addiction bed available, I would be all over the Hay River hospital idea. I would like to ask the Minister if he would commit today to at least examine that possibility of re-profiling what will be the former Hay River hospital in three years’ time as a youth treatment centre.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Abernethy.

The current Hay River hospital was built in two stages. There’s a much older wing and then there is a much newer part, which was very modern and cutting edge in its time when I think we cut the ribbon in 1975. I would like us to examine all possibilities for how we as a government could not retire that infrastructure but somehow re-profile it and put it and keep it in service for something. I would like to ask the Minister if he could confirm that – I know what he’s saying about the mechanical and all that – that the code for construction or utilization for a hospital would be different than...

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Abernethy.

Could the Minister, after the research he did for my colleagues, confirm that the wait time for Hay River is less than two weeks to take a test?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to talk today a little bit on one of my favourite topics: decentralization.

We’ve been talking about this a lot and I’d like to thank the Premier and Minister Ramsay, who recently took the time to meet with a delegation from Hay River, including MLA Bouchard, myself, the then-acting mayor and representative from the Chamber of Commerce, and the town SAO who came up to Yellowknife and discussed several issues, but one of them, and one of the very important ones, of course, was decentralization.

I don’t need to tell people I’ve been around this place a long time...

I’m not sure that was an invitation, but okay. Any further questions on this page? Okay. Public Works and Services, activity summary, asset management, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $19.2 million. Agreed?

Agreed. Thank you. No questions? Mr. Dolynny.