Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Madam Speaker. For the record, we should be absolutely, categorically, unequivocally and starkly clear that we are not messing around with the program. We are moving the program as it exists to another community with the same contractor, with the same skills and with access to the same resources to do that. I want to point out the majority of children who access TTC are from outside of Yellowknife. We will provide the information as was promised, and if it’s insufficient I am sure that I will be getting direct feedback from the Members and if it is insufficient we’ll try to fill in...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, maybe just to give a bit of perspective on this issue; up until relatively recently, before the start of this pilot project in Yellowknife, there was only medical respite, which closed the door on a majority of people that had dependants at home that didn't need medical respite but could benefit from the program that was created here in Yellowknife on a pilot basis.

We have taken the step to move away from just the medical respite to do the social respite. I acknowledge fully in this House that we are beset by far more problems than we have resources....

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the majority of these children are going to come from communities outside of Yellowknife and many smaller communities, communities that may struggle just to have a nurse, let alone the range of services that we are discussing in this House that may be available in Yellowknife or Hay River. The services the children need will be available in Hay River or there will be arrangements made to access them in Yellowknife. If you look at the work plan and the plan for Health and Social Services for the next two years, the plan is to re-establishment...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I was asked to provide this information to the Members and I will do that. There are no caveats on it. I will also bring a package to Cabinet tomorrow to get some feedback, as we do before we table any documents, to see what the will of Cabinet is. At this point, the Member will have the information. He can look at it and determine how best he wants to use it, as will every other Member of this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, earlier my colleague from Kam Lake made some unfortunate comments where he spoke in an absolute way about the fact that Health and Social Services obviously didn’t care about children. I just want to point out for the record that there are over 1,200 employees who work for Health and Social Services plus many contractual employees through NGOs and other service agencies, the majority of whom deal with children on a daily basis. They have devoted their lives to working with children and are very caring and committed people. It’s an unfortunate...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, Dr. Rozycki is an eminent practitioner as well as the head of Bosco Homes and he has extensive experience in delivering this type of program. He’s very capable and qualified, as are his staff. This is a program decision, public policy decision, as the Member indicated, and it’s a case of can a program be moved and operated and relocated and operated in the same structure that it currently has. In our opinion, it can be, yes.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I can appreciate the Member of Yellowknife Great Slave’s concerns, very specific and germane to his constituency. However, as a Member of this government and as a Cabinet Minister, we have a responsibility to think territorial-wide and to take careful, measured decisions that we think will positively benefit all of the residents, including the children. We have done that in this case. We have given a clear signal of what we intend to do. We have indicated that there will be a period of time to transition this with renovations and such over the next 18...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there should be in the Members’ in-trays, a copy of a message I received from Dr. Gus Rozycki who runs Bosco Homes indicating their support and willingness to work with us in this transfer and their support for the decision to in fact do that. Dr. Rozycki is the head of Bosco Homes. He’s very qualified in this area. He has a long history. He has very many good staff who he has access to not only in the North, but in Edmonton and other jurisdictions that they bring to bear on the children in care.

I, as well, have some background of my own working with...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, Bosco Homes provides a very high level of program service for children in Fort Smith and in TTC. As I have indicated repeatedly over the sitting of this Assembly, the decision has been made to relocate the program. The determination is that the program can be transferred and can operate without any erosion. The service will still be there. It’s a territorial program open to all the children in the Northwest Territories. It will continue to provide the service, educationally and socially, that it currently does provide right now. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There has been some work with involved parties, with the unfortunate exception of INAC who we have tried to get to the table with no success as of yet. We will continue the work and I will be prepared to keep the Member apprised of any plans that come out of this work or issues they determine have to be dealt with. Thank you.