Michael Nadli

Mr. Speaker, there’s been discussions in terms of the efficiencies in terms of government spending and revenues, and one of the focus points has been the issue of medical travel. Will the Minister commit if there is perhaps down the road an opportunity to review the program, would the Minister commit to ensure that the involvement of fathers during the delivery of their children is considered with the view of trying to support families in that special moment?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Escort support of pregnant women is limited. I have had several constituents come to Yellowknife to have their baby, and not one of them had their spouse there to help them. It’s not because they did not want to; it’s because we do not have the support in place for fathers during the delivery of their children. Mr. Speaker, it is a very special moment in the lives of families when a woman delivers a baby. I think we can all agree that we try to make it as comfortable as we can as an experience, in that special moment when a child is born. Mr. Speaker, this government has...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Sunday will be Father’s Day. I’m hoping that the Minister of Health and Social Services could deliver some good news. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister of Health and Social Services please explain the existing support for families during the delivery of their children?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the deputy for giving me that reply. What are the rules of elders and land-based programs then? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the deputy explain whether that initiative could be focused on specifically individuals that are being reintegrated, or is there an effort to look at perhaps people that are going back into the community and working with their families? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Minister has stated that, in terms of evaluating the merits of continuing the New Day program, there could be an effort to redesign the program. Could the Minister explain: if indeed it goes down the path of redesigning the program, to continue, would it have a local community or else a territorial focus? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’m familiar with another initiative that’s very similar in its nature. It’s called the Interim Resource Management Assistance Program where non-claiming groups could access funding to participate in regulatory processes, whether it’s an environmental assessment or participating in the liaison with a lot of groups across the North. How does that compare with the IRMA Program, the client service and the community relations? Mahsi.

Nothing further.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In terms of leases and the work with the Housing Corporation and LHOs, earlier I think I understood the Minister alluding to the idea of perhaps at some point there could be an arrangement where responsibilities could be arranged so that First Nation organizations that maybe have self-government negotiations in place or already completed, could be a party for a self-government arrangement so that they could be responsible for at least administering and maintaining housing programs at the local level. Could the Minister maybe explain in terms of what she had envisioned in...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the Minister for reply. If indeed these are pilot cases in those three communities, is there perhaps a process in terms of undertaking those initiatives? That is a great step in terms of addressing the homelessness issues in small communities. Just in terms of process, as I understand it, a pilot case is undertaken at the community level, it is monitored, and perhaps some flexibility in terms of how a program initiative of that nature could work if implemented. At some point, there is an evaluation in terms of trying to reflect upon maybe the...