Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I met with YACCS a couple of weeks ago and indicated to them that the dementia facility is not in the ‘07-08 capital plan. It is on our list should there be any new money that comes available, along with a number of other projects. We continue to do the work. There was $1 million allocated to the dementia facility planning last year. That money has not been fully expended. In fact, it’s only been partially expended. So we are continuing to look at that. We have been in contact with YACCS. We are going to be much more actively involved to work with YACCS in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, for the record, I would like to stand before this House and unreservedly and in an unqualified way withdraw comments. I apologize to the Member and this House for those comments and indicate that I am sorry for any distress that I have caused to him or his family. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we share the sense of urgency that the Member has indicated to us here, that we will get through this process as fast as we can and if there are suitable candidates, we'll make sure that that process is done as quickly as possible and job offers are made hopefully within a matter of a couple of weeks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I didn't catch the part of the Member's question about whether they are qualified or not.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not aware of any loose change within the context of our entire fiscal circumstance. I have outlined to the Member the process and where the facility stands. There is also many other critical projects out there. The dementia facility has just come into the capital plan this year. It’s now on there and we will continue to move it forward in the coming business planning cycle. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been going through the business planning process, the capital planning process. The Minister of Finance gave a statement in the House about the fiscal update. He indicated that there is a requirement to have a certain amount of surplus to be able to fund our capital infrastructure. The money that was in the budget, the money was fully subscribed to. We have a much longer list of projects than we have resources. It is on our list should new money come available, but at this time there has been no money added to the capital budget and that is the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In recognition of National Foster Family Appreciation Week, October 15th to the 21st, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the contributions our foster families make in the lives of many children and families in the NWT.

For the past several years, over 400 foster families have provided a safe, caring home for over 600 of our most vulnerable children who require this service. Some of these foster families provide short-term care in emergency situations, while others have been providing a service to the same children for many years and thereby creating...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday in this House, I made reference to two individuals. This was a conversation, as I sat in my chair, as Mr. Ramsay was talking. Those

comments were not on the record, but when he called the point of order I recognized, very clearly, that I had caused him some unhappiness, that I had spoken inappropriately to the point where he wanted to call a point of order.

I thought it would be incumbent upon me to do the right thing, which is stand up and acknowledge that, yes, there were comments made and that I was prepared to withdraw them. Those comments...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I intended with my previous answer was to indicate that up to this point, this current business planning process, the dementia facility had never been formally brought forward as a capital project, that work had been done over the last few years. We've used some federal money; we have identified land for the project. It was put in through the capital process for the first time this business planning session, and while it would not be reflected in the capital plan, as I indicated to the YACCS people, it is now in the capital planning process and will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's also a lot of things that are right in Stanton, and I think there is a lot of good work being done. I've committed to the Member from Range Lake that we will set up a process where there can be consultation with the front-line workers to get feedback unit by unit on issues that may be out there. We are addressing a lot of the issues. For example, the janitorial contract has recently been rewritten and the standards increased. That is in the works. So we continue to work on this on a regular basis. This is not only a staffing review that's...