Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This job is making me very cynical. The fact that we have to do the budget today, but we don't get to talk about the Mental Health and Addictions Recovery Action Plan until next week means that we are not able to discuss the details today that are relevant to this budget. I find that the timing of this is unfortunate, if not directly purposeful.

I want to point out to the Minister that money that isn't paid upfront to support people on whom we have spent thousands of dollars to achieve their sobriety doesn't make any sense. We are talking about value for money and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the detail on that. Does this line not capture the cost of moving the department out of the current Stanton Hospital into the new one? Where is that cost? Is it here? Thank you.

Yes, thank you. Just finally in this area, when the standards are complete, is the Minister planning to come and discuss them with the Standing Committee on Social Development? Thank you.

Mr. Chair, the wait to have this action plan completed and the compounding wait of seeing which initiatives are going to work, I found incredibly frustrating. This is not an area that we should be playing wait-and-see with. This is an area which I would like to see treated like Child and Family Services, where there was a leaping over of all the government slowdown processes to actually make things work immediately. Why is that not the case for mental health and addictions recovery? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm looking at the line that is described as "facility maintenance and support." Could the Minister confirm that the increase in this expenditure relates to Stanton Hospital? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Minister just remind us what the purpose of the shelters standards is? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Development is eagerly awaiting the mental health and addictions recovery plan. Where do we find the money in this budget that will implement the actions that are recommended in that plan when we see it? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The second point of the Wise Women's Awards was to acknowledge and promote women's leadership, and to me that is especially important, given our efforts to attract more women to political leadership in the NWT. Can the Minister tell us how she plans to acknowledge and promote women's leadership on an ongoing basis? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am aware that the money for family violence has increased in this budget, and that will certainly be welcome to service providers. On what basis was this money increased? Does it tie to the shelter standards that have been discussed in years gone by? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I remain concerned that money for homecare has lapsed, given the increased number and needs of seniors in the territory. I understand that there is a homecare study under way now. Does this budget include implementation of recommendations from that homecare study in the 2019-2020 fiscal year? Thank you.