Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about seniors housing in the Northwest Territories and the new rent scale that came about as the shelter review policy was undertaken.

During the last couple of weeks my colleague from Hay River North and I had the opportunity to meet with some of the seniors in Hay River to discuss this very topic. I would first like to articulate a few of the benefits seniors have living in the Northwest Territories.

We have from our government the fossil fuel subsidy, the reduction to the cost of drivers’ licences, supplementary health care benefits –...

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Oh, just one second, Mr. Miltenberger. Our sound technician thought you were finished. So back to Mr. Miltenberger, please.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Next I have Mr. Dolynny.

Okay, thank you. General comments. Okay, seeing no general comments...

---Laughter

Mr. Menicoche.

I’ll call committee back to order. We have agreed to consider Tabled Document 3-17(3), NWT Main Estimates 2012-2013. We have also agreed to begin with general comments. Although the Minister will not be bringing witnesses in at this moment, when they do arrive, does committee agree that the Minister could have witnesses and that the Sergeant-at-Arms could escort them into the Chamber when they arrive? Agreed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister raises the Nats'ejee K'eh Treatment Facility on the Hay River Reserve. That is an underutilized, to a large extent, facility. They do have co-ed treatment. They have men’s programs; they have women’s programs. Is there any chance of taking that existing infrastructure, the counsellors and the folks that are already working there, and having some time designated for youth treatment? Thank you.

So let me understand; the Minister is not denying that there are many youth in the Northwest Territories that could benefit from treatment, but there are not youth that are coming forward, identifying themselves as candidates for treatment and the ones that we are sending to the South are being forced into treatment because they’ve come in contact with the law or have been referred there kind of as a desperate measure. So we have a drug and alcohol problem amongst our youth and we don’t really have any way to get them into treatment. They don’t really want to go do treatment. So they’re coming...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that there are a lot of skills contained in that office and certainly we don’t want to make rash moves without sufficient analysis before we would make moves in the area of decentralization, but I just want to say that I do appreciate the Premier’s public commitment here today and his willingness to look at this. I thank him very much. Thank you.

I’d like to ask the Premier, is he prepared to, I guess, issue a decree as the leader here in the North to his Cabinet colleagues and to the people in the bureaucracy that this is something we are serious about. Not to do things that are insensible, but to seriously analyze opportunities to do things in the regions, in communities outside of Yellowknife wherever possible. Is he prepared to put that message out in a way that we can recognize it and see it? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Pastor Emmanuel Adam. He’s not my constituent, he’s yours, but I appreciate the good work he does in Tuktoyaktuk. Often when my husband has visited up there, he’s stopped in at the church and I do not think we can underestimate the good spiritual leadership provided by our pastors here in the North.