Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently I am the Minister responsible for Seniors, which gives a focal point to the issues related to seniors. We have a strong working relationship and a funding arrangement with the territorial Seniors’ Association. We have in place the pieces we need. We also have a very close working relationship with all the authorities and the boards within the regions that work on mainly seniors’ issues. We have processes in place to do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll commit to investigate the Member’s concerns. I’ve seen some of the documentation he’s pulled together, keeping in mind that we have a capacity issue in terms of how much legislation we’re able to do in a given period of time. But I will commit to look at that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like every problem area that we do have, there are more problems than there are resources. The people who are on hand to do the work are coping. We do have funding available for another psychiatrist, but have yet to be successful in recruiting. Are there problems that could be better served? Probably, but we have a significant number of resources on the ground, in the communities, mental health workers, community wellness workers, in addition to the nurses and doctors and psychiatrists here, and some psychologists and counsellors. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since the Member was encouraging or saying that I have to be Minister to conclude all the studies I already have underway, I could probably squeeze in one more.

---Laughter

But the reality is, Mr. Speaker, this doesn’t require a study. This requires a plan of action and, yes, I would be happy to report back in June. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the Member raised the issue during the review of the budget of Health and Social Services, I indicated that I would be talking later that night with the president of the Social Workers’ Association, which I did do. We had a fairly lengthy discussion. One of the topics of concern was what is happening in the college; the need to do a better job in marketing the college program and what other things should we be doing as a department to better support the social work profession.

I have since had meetings with the deputy to pass on some of the concerns...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the week of March 6th to 12th is National Social Work Week in the NWT. This year’s theme is Social Work: Fairness and Wellness. I would like to take a moment to recognize the valuable work of approximately 80 social workers across the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, having worked in the social services field, I know how important these people are to the northern communities. Social workers help individuals, families, groups and communities find ways to make positive choices and changes in their lives.

Social workers are strong capable people who often...

Mr. Speaker, I’d have to check, but I don’t think so.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has raised a very key issue as we talk about FASD. If you accept, as we do, the Health Canada statistics that nine out of every 1,000 children born is affected with FASD and if you extrapolate that back a number of decades, then it is very clear to see that FASD is not a child’s disease. It’s a lifelong issue and that the population in the society we have, there are, by those statistical estimates, hundreds if not thousands of undiagnosed people in our society. Not only here, but in every jurisdiction.

We are members of the Canada Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are doing a lot of things with the homeless, with services to adults, with the services we buy, our contract for facilities such as the Salvation Army for people that are having difficulty. At this point we know that there’s a significant number of the population that require those services. So there are already some services there. The specific diagnosis of the individuals needing those services has yet to be clearly done in a more specific way so that it is clear what the individuals may be personally dealing with. So we’re going to continue to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at present we have services for adults the same as we have a characterization on it. It is a special need that is not clearly defined, but, once again, if an adult is diagnosed or assessed with FASD, then it’s a case-by-case basis at this point. Thank you.