Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We, as a government, have taken all the steps at this point we believe are necessary. We’ve made arrangements with Integrated Services. We, along with Nunavut and the Alberta government, no longer place clients with APYS. The issue of the aboriginal and cultural component is one that’s been addressed. Integrated Services is tied into services in Edmonton with the group Bent Arrow and the friendship centres. We are working with them to make sure that the northern content is there. Once the clients move, we can deal with issues like northern foods and that sort of thing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is not a facility with one huge roof like Wal-Mart. We're talking about individual living accommodations and supports for people with complex needs. I have indicated to the Members involved that I would be happy to look towards arranging a tour down to Capital Health in Edmonton to look at all our health services…

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…and all our social services that we contract with them. We did it in the last assembly and it was a very informative tour for myself and the Members who went along, and I would be willing to look at arranging that again. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no contradiction, and I'll do my best to satisfy the Member, as difficult as that sometimes may be. The reality is, as I've indicated, Mr. Speaker -- and this is not just a case of putting a roof over somebody's head -- we're talking about clients, many of them with complex, multiple needs that are very specialized. So I think it's an overgeneralization to say let's just round them all up and stick them into every available space we may have up here willy-nilly, regardless of what their needs may be. So, yes, we're looking at this and we're...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, without being able to find that particular item in my briefing book, the figure that I would suggest is it’s a few million. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a variety of resources, as the Member knows and has indicated, in her community. In Yellowknife there are a number of supported living situations, as well. There's capacity in Fort Smith, there's some capacity in Inuvik. It depends on the particular needs of the client involved, and it has to be done on a client-by-client basis, which is what we're doing. At this point we've had very senior staff in Edmonton for the last two to three weeks, working through this APYS situation. One of the issues that has come to light, as I indicated, is the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have over the last few years put nursing programs in place, we have social work programs, we are now doing registered care aid programs, we are going to put back into effect the community health representative programs, we are supporting students in post-secondary situations in medical school. So we have initiatives on a whole number of fronts in terms of trying to develop a northern workforce in these very specialized areas. So we still struggle with some of the psychiatric specialties, and those types of very advanced services, but we are committed...

Mr. Speaker, in relation to this particular instance, the primary, fundamental and initial concern is to make sure that once a decision is made about APYS, the transition to move clients into adequate facilities so they have the same kind of service level and resources they had previously is done. We’ve done that. I have indicated to this House, in the short term we are looking at the possibilities of some short-term repatriation of services we now have in the North. As well, we are going to look at the longer term, once again based on the individual client needs, to see what could be possible...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We would be happy to provide this House, to the Chair of Social Programs, the package of information that we have as it relates to Integrated Services in Edmonton and the various components of the programs and services they offer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the level of the Member's satisfaction is the level of detail I don't think I really need as the Minister. However, I will attempt to respond once again. These are very specialized placements, they're not necessarily institutions, they're supported living, there are multiple needs, some of them very complex that require specialized care. Are we looking at this? Yes, we are.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of repatriation and providing, as a government, services to the people we serve within the territory is not a new concept. If we look back to 1967 when the government came north and the services that were there then and the services that are here now clearly indicate that we have been evolving over the years and decades and that there are a tremendous amount of services we provide in house, be it in education where we now can do college or some university accreditation, or in health and social services where we have group homes, we have...