Julie Green

Thank you very much for outlining that schedule. What I don't see here is the 72 beds that have been discussed for long-term care that I understand will also be part of the old hospital. Could the Minister elaborate on when the equivalent work will be done for the long-term care beds as there are for the extended care? Thank you

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am looking at the Tourism and Parks page. I know the Minister had good news to share yesterday about the number of tourists and, of course, most of them came by air and they are staying in hotels, but I do want to note that there were a lot of people who came to the Northwest Territories to camp. I'm a camper as well, and there were a number of times when parks were at or near capacity.

In addition to these incremental changes that are in the schedule here on pages 40 to 42, I'm wondering if the department is considering the development of additional spaces in...

Thank you, Mrs. Chair. The question I have then relating to page 5: does that spending represent what's already been assigned to the hospital? Is that what that money is about? Thank you

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister. Of course, the Minister is aware that the sobering centre is a harm reduction facility and a further harm reduction measure is a proposed managed alcohol program, which we have talked about in this House before. Are there any plans to introduce a managed alcohol program now that there is a permanent location for the sobering centre? Mahsi.

Thank you very much for that. Those are all my questions.

Of course, I look forward to hearing the results of that call for interest. As I mentioned, the City of Yellowknife has stepped up and put their dollars behind the effort to reduce drunkenness and help people in need. It is worth knowing that analysis shows that the majority of people being served actually come from places other than Yellowknife, so this is truly a panterritorial problem, and yet it is the Yellowknife ratepayers who are facing the tax hike this year to help pay for these services. My question for the Minister is whether the GNWT will increase its contribution to the operation...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the answer. The money ultimately has to come from somewhere, and as the deputy minister has already pointed out, there is a significant underfunding of the communities, which has been quantified and it is well understood. In addition to the strategy being developed and produced this fall, when might we see the investment to close that gap? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not sure what strategy the Minister has in mind here, but the Office of the Auditor General was clear that the firefighting capacity in the communities was inadequate. At what point will investments be made in improving firefighting, that is to say residential or commercial firefighting, in the communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Office of the Auditor General reviewed the MACA operations and released a report earlier this year, and there were some recommendations that seemed to indicate increased investment, especially in fire safety. Could the Minister tell us whether there are any investments in this capital plan that address the recommendations in that report and, if not, when we are going to see them? Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker, and my thanks to the Minister. Are we looking at spending more money than we approved in the last Capital Estimates in order to upgrade this perimeter fence? Mahsi.