Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this decision is one that has some history, as the Member has indicated and I have talked about in this House. There were decisions made and there was some revisiting of some decisions. There was initial work done to TTC, as well. We looked at Hay River. There was some work started in Yellowknife to look at what was possible there, as well. The decision was ultimately made before we were too far along any given track to move the program to Hay River and steps were made to do that. Any work that was initiated to look at TTC and be renovated in Yellowknife...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intention that I have indicated is to move TTC. At present, the numbers indicate that half of the residents are from Yellowknife. Those numbers change based on demand and need from wherever the need may arise. It’s the same circumstance just in Stanton, for example, where at least half the population has to travel into Yellowknife to get service, or if you want to go to the Territorial young offenders’ facility in Inuvik, you have to go there. So I appreciate the concern that there may be residents in Yellowknife who have to travel to access the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Hay River has a history of being able to provide services to children. In fact, before there was a young offenders' facility there, there was a receiving home and Dene K’onia had other uses other than a young offender facility. So they’re one of the largest communities outside of Yellowknife. They have a very high level of service in all the areas that are required to provide service to these children in need. So, yes, Mr. Speaker, we’ve looked at the capacity and it’s my opinion and the opinion of the department that this program can be delivered very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we’re going to be building a lot of the detail of this move into the business plan, but I would be happy to put together a package for the Social Programs committee and meet with them, along with the many other issues we have on the agenda to meet with them about in the next number of weeks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, clearly this government has articulated the position that indicates they are willing to look at opportunities to decentralize services outside of Yellowknife when possible and feasible. In this case, we have an opportunity to access a facility that is about seven or eight years newer than the facility in Yellowknife. We had money already in the budget that we just have to transfer. It was vacant. It was an opportunity to in fact have a program run in a community that has the capacity to deliver the service at the same level, in my opinion, that is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been money in the capital budget to do this. We’ve carried it over for the last year or so and the money that is already there, instead of being used here, will be used for the renovations of Dene K’onia.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been a waiting list of up to seven individuals. Currently, I understand, there is a waiting list of one. So we are looking at utilizing Dene K’onia and when it comes to services in Yellowknife, there will continue to be the many services that are here for children. I would just like to remind individuals, as well, we are working on, at the urging of this House, our southern placements to see what repatriation possibilities are there both for children and for adults. That is an ongoing process that is currently underway, as well. So there will be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of what NGOs pay their staff is one that is affecting many operations within government, including other operations in Yellowknife, especially those that are unionized who are increasing pressure for a wage parity and it’s an issue that we are struggling with. The reality is we have a program run by Bosco in Fort Smith that is staffed and fully functional. It’s our anticipation that we will be able to do this as well in Hay River with either the staff, a few that are going to transfer, or through the hiring process in Hay River. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there will be an opportunity for staff currently employed, if they wish, to look at transferring. Also Yellowknife has the benefit of having one of the hottest economies in the country, so there are significant job opportunities here. Yellowknife Health and Social Services will also be working with the staff to see what is available. So we will make every effort to ensure that we can minimize whatever personal disruption there is to current staff in Yellowknife as we look at the transition. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Bosco Homes has provided a very high quality of service for many years. Like any contract, their term has run out. We’ve given them a one-year extension to help deal with the transition and it’s our hope that, through the competitive process, that they will continue to submit or will submit another expression of interest if they’re interested. We intend to move on filling this contract so there is no break in service. Bosco Homes is the current provider. I believe last time it was put out to tender the only company that did apply was Bosco Homes. At this...