Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is the Minister open to having the same kind of discussions with the community of Yellowknife around the J.H. Sissons school rebuild to figure out whether there's a partnership possibility to include childcare spaces in that school? Thank you.

Thank you. I like the idea of making schools hubs. That's the point of putting gyms in schools, so that the community will go there and use it as a community centre. On what basis is childcare considered in some of these projects and not in others? For example, it's my understanding that the Colville Lake School is going to include childcare. Can the Minister confirm that, please?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I receive a lot of calls from seniors who are concerned about homecare services. Ultimately, what I would like to leave them with is when they will see the benefit of the recommendations of this report. Thank you.

I appreciate the reminder from the Minister that homecare is actually for all us. I benefited greatly from their attention during an accident that I had at the beginning of this Assembly. My question for the Minister is: what is the status of the homecare study now, and does he know when it will be made public?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. If anyone had told me all this good would come from all the disruptive and apparently arbitrary decisions made two-and-a-half years ago, I would have had trouble believing it. My hope is that the 19th Assembly will continue on the course now set for a promising future. Mahsi.

That sounds like an interesting initiative. A final concern I have which the Minister has touched on is about the systemic changes needed to prevent children from going into care because of issues such as a lack of food and inadequate housing. The anti-poverty commitments, which the Minister has also represented, include a continuum of service and maybe should include a continuum of support. Can the Minister say what kind of prevention is taking place around this issue of neglect driving children into care?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to discuss some process issues with this bill. As you may know, we received the report on this act, this world-class, most-significant bill since the Devolution Act, yesterday, still warm from the photocopier, about two inches thick, and we who were not on the committee had no time or opportunity to go through it fully engaged, obviously, in what's happening here.

For people like me who are not part of the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment, I was at a real disadvantage to appreciate the complexity of the motions that were being proposed...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my statement today I spoke about the quality improvement plan for Child and Family Services that was tabled earlier this week. As I mentioned, the plan has many strengths, but I do have some concerns. The Minister has often said that too many priorities result in no priorities at all. Can the Minister say why he then endorsed 70 priorities in this plan? Thank you.

Nothing further. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is this a good time to do opening comments on the bill, or wait until the witnesses are here?