Kevin A. Menicoche

I think one of the issues last fall, as well, was a matter of who does the recruitment. I know that we’ve got the Department of Human Resources, but is the health authority doing their own recruitment?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Residents of Fort Liard would like consistent mental health service delivery. Fort Liard has long been asking for help with the mental health and addictions of the residents. Having a full-time dedicated mental health worker would help. People need to build trust and it’s hard to do that when there’s always someone new to see.

Residents of Fort Liard care about their relatives and friends who have addictions as this not only affects the families but the community as a whole. We want this government to build a stronger and steadier northern workforce and there...

I guess one of the other issues in the small communities and hiring professionals is the high turnover rate. I was wondering if the department has been addressing this, have been looking at this, and finding some alternate strategies in order to keep longer term employees in the small and remote communities.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about a consistent full-time mental health worker in Fort Liard. I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services a question. I did raise this issue last fall. I’d just like to ask once again, when will the department be hiring a full-time mental health worker in the community of Fort Liard?

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. These line items are unusual in the fact that they are exactly all the same in the actual and revised estimates as well. I’m just wondering: is that because these programs are fully subscribed?

It sounds like the Minister is aware of the issues in the small communities, because their funding is always tight and the Minister has heard that from many members, too, in the communities. It is about the amount of money it takes to travel out of the communities to get to Yellowknife. It sounds like he’s willing to move some of the training closer to the communities, especially about governance and management. In the small communities there is a high turnover of people that manage the communities, so they find themselves training more. Like I said, it’s quite expensive.

This gas tax funding...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I’ve got a motion here. I move that this committee now concludes consideration of the Department of Transportation department summary and all related activities and information items contained in Tabled Document 22-17(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates 2014-2015. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Of course, we do have our own drinking and driving awareness program. Does the department also involve MADD and SADD when they initiate their annual campaign? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Last week in the House I spoke about Fort Simpson resident Ms. Sharon Allen and her starting up the chapter of MADD. It was her desire to keep our community safe by targeting drunk drivers and initiating a check stop like she did last fall.

I would like to ask the Minister of Transportation, how does our department assist with individuals that privately volunteer with such a well-known organization, such as MADD, in terms of keeping our drunk driving statistics down? Of course, there has been a bit of a rise there lately. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise this afternoon to commemorate the life and work of the late Sarah Hardisty, a well-respected Aboriginal elder and respected artist of Jean Marie River.

On a special note, she created the band of porcupine quill work that adorns our own territorial Mace.

Sarah Hardisty was born in Jean Marie River in July 1924 when the community was little more than a summer gathering place. Her family lived a traditional life, spending summers in Jean Marie and winters at Fish Lake. Although Sarah recalls many hardships, she fondly recalled a much simpler time and...