Norman Yakeleya

I’d like to recognize a constituent from Deline, Mr. Peter Bonnetrouge, and also I want to recognize some of the fine staff members who work here in the Leg. who are in the gallery with their children.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister talked about a territorial-wide approach to respite care. Would the Minister entertain with her Cabinet Members as to how we can support families that are on call 24/7 who are basically supporting their loved ones? How can we support them in terms of putting together a solid program that would see that they would get some relief and some support in our smaller communities where some of them have to go to work after a week of taking time off? We need to get some good support in our communities. I ask the Minister if she will look at all possibilities where...

Mr. Speaker, ever since I have been in the House, I have been asking for basic requests such as providing traditional foods at Stanton Hospital for our elders. Stanton Hospital is 65 percent of our aboriginal patients there. I ask the Minister again, what is she doing in terms of this simple request. I don’t think it will cost too much to have it here at Stanton to provide traditional food for some of our elders that come here for some length of stay. When can the Minister give me a solid answer in terms of this simple request?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In life at times we are very fortunate to meet someone special who shows up in our life to either teach us, give us a push or just to listen. Well, Mr. Speaker, I had that experience in my life, as well as many others too. I recently heard a good friend, Mansell Gray, passed away on October 22, 2010, in Hay River. He was surrounded by many of those he helped and by clergy who prayed for him.

Mansell came north in 1988 and worked in Fort Providence, Fort McPherson and, finally, in Hay River. Later on, in the ‘90s, Mansell was joined by his wife, Elaine, who has since...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have about 238 adults in the Sahtu region that are 60 years and older. Some of these adults are considered elders in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, elders’ care in the Sahtu is severely lacking. Gone are the days of families taking care of their parents and grandparents on a full-time basis. Mr. Speaker, families need support to take care of their own in their own homes. However, this type of care puts a lot of pressure on families, because it speaks to the core values and beliefs of a family in our communities. It’s stressful as families have to take care of their own...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do thank the architects of this motion here. It is a very good motion. I will be supporting the motion.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak in terms of the basic care of respite care in the Northwest Territories, mainly in terms of the second whereas in this motion is to support the goal of keeping families together, as the Member, my colleague, Ms. Bisaro has stated, we need to focus on this goal in terms of one of our supports for families and also support the communities to keep their children as close to home as possible.

Mr. Speaker, we also need to look at the high cost...

Mr. Speaker, I have been here for seven years. It has been an issue ever since I became a Member of this House here to talk about some of the issues at Stanton in terms of traditional food. The Minister now is responding to the request. I hope that this request can be implemented by the time we finish our term here. The Minister is right in terms of elderly care in our region is costly because of the travel and the training and the dollars to go up there. I want to ask the Minister in terms of providing care in our communities in the Sahtu. Again, the example yesterday in Deline and other...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, November 4, 2010, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that this Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Premier immediately commence a public consultation process, in partnership with the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, to determine the shape of a northern management regime for lands and resources;

And further, that recommendations on the proposed implementation of this regime be included in transition documents and planning for the 17th Legislative...

Okay, so that looks like we’ve got a couple of million every year to support this program and to support the benefits of this program for people in the North. I want to ask the Minister about the sustainability of this program on a yearly basis in regard to some of the needs in the smaller communities and some of the basic access to health care. It seems like we’re going through crunching time. How much can we sustain and continue on with this program? Can the Minister answer that?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services how much it costs her department to provide the supplementary health benefits to residents in the North.