Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were cuts proposed that were laid out in our business plan and in the draft main estimates; the details which were shared fully with the committees. It was also initially reviewed by the COs and the authorities and we reviewed the areas where we anticipated we could meet the targets that we set as a department.

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the specific cuts to Yellowknife; there were some cuts to the wellness funding, but Yellowknife Health and Social Services has about a $33 million budget. They already inject additional funds over and above what wellness...

Madam Chair, we do have a contract and we do have in there clauses that allow for cost increases for things like the forced growth items that we experience as well. We negotiate a cost and we’ve changed how we negotiate. I believe it’s a five-year term, but I’ll have to double-check that. I know it has clauses built in that reflect the increased cost of business. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it’s too early for us to determine the success but, yes, the instruction has been issued already. The processes are in place with the authorities in terms of referrals. We have it set up where they work through Stanton. So the medevacs and medical travel are coordinated. We’ve taken the steps and we’re monitoring, of course, the usage and the cost. I’ll be able to report to committee, probably in the fall when we come back to start reviewing business plans, where we are and what the numbers are telling us.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I would be happy to provide Social Programs with the background work that led us to this position.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What I can tell the Member is this additional funding has been put in. I haven’t been made aware if this is deemed insufficient or there is a further crisis that’s not going to able to be handled in the short term. So I can’t answer the Member in any greater detail than I have already given her in terms of the current status or the waiting lists. My information is we have moved ahead on this and the money has been put to good use by the community of Yellowknife. It’s also been used to a certain extent in other communities that have required it on a case-by-case...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the money that was allocated, some went to fund additional beds at the Centre for Northern Families, as well as the Salvation Army, to get us over the winter months.

The Member raises an interesting conundrum, as it were, or dilemma that we have as a government. As she has indicated, for whatever reasons, families can be without housing because they are in arrears or they have been evicted. Then it has become a homelessness or child welfare issue. So we have some short-term funding to get us over the winter in Yellowknife with northern families in the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Minister has laid out the basic facts very clearly. I’ve been tasked, as the lead Minister, to deal with the homelessness issue and I’m also the chair of the social envelope Ministers and we collaboratively got together to look at how we’re going to deal with this issue, which is quite complex. Our initial focus was to deal with what they call absolute homelessness for the coming winter, which was those folks who don’t have accommodations at all, a warm place to sleep at night. At the same time, the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation is...

Thank you, Madam Chair. We’ve had a contract with Capital Health now for many years. We did a major renewal a couple years ago and there are extension clauses built in, but we’ve had an arrangement now for many years with Capital Health as our nearest source of that kind of tertiary level service and specialized service. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, as the Minister previously indicated, the utilization rates increased to the tune of about $2.8 million. There’s a four percent rate increase of about $331,000. Then there was some claims processed from 2003-04 for $865,000. I could share with the Members, if they’re interested, the summary of costs by diagnosis, by summary of claims by diagnosis, and by summary of average costs by diagnosis, if that’s of interest. I’d also point out that we’ve also been looking at our costs. Alberta has been looking at our use of their facilities and I’ve indicated to...

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. The Minister of FMBS, Mr. Roland, is correct that we have provided assistance in the past. We are currently doing work with operational reviews, because there are a number of boards that are struggling with their finances as well. It is not strictly an issue of poor management.

The Dogrib board was created in 1997 and, as already indicated, one of the biggest drivers of their deficit was the fact that there was never any funding for ambulance services. Rae is the only community that doesn’t have an airport or have a way to get people to Stanton. They...