Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Madam Chair. That's what I wanted to hear. At least make a commitment to look at the friendship centres, at the work they do, and let's recognize it. They will be happy, I will be happy, and all the MLAs here will be happy. Thank you.

I thank the Minister for considering that. What I would expect is that, you know, we don't look at it being in just one community. I don't expect we have to spend a lot of money on it, but we should have something in the south and something in the north, as well, just so that people have easy access. So I would just ask the Minister that she consider that, as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of health. I have a number of constituents getting a hold of me, talking about the new extended care facility slated for Hay River. I would just like the Minister to provide an update of where we are at with that so I can report back to my constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Hay River is in dire need of housing for single families, for single people, for larger families. People have been on the waiting list for up to three years. We have to look, I guess, outside of the box on this and figure out how to get more housing in there. Is the Minister willing to consider talking to and using the private sector to build housing that could then be leased back or used for public housing?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to also ask the Minister: what, if anything, is the Minister's department doing to ensure government employees are provided due process and fairness? Thank you.

A follow-up is: what is the most common workplace harassment complaint?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government promised change. Prior to being voted into office, I heard stories and complaints from persons working in government who informed me of a toxic working environment where bullying and belittling was a common occurrence in some departments under certain managers or by co-workers. As an MLA, I now hear those same concerns and, unlike before, I am in a position that will allow me to address it and do something about it.

Mr. Speaker, employees at every level of this government deserve to be treated with respect, not only by management, but by their co-workers...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to talk about the funding, or lack of funding, I guess, for the NWT friendship centres. They have also reached out to me, and I expect that they have reached out to other MLAs. They were provided the money, $250,000, for capacity building. In reality, we know the issues that they have to deal with on a daily basis with the limited amount of funds that they have, and they try and stretch those dollars. When I hear that we don't want to set them up for failure, those terms are usually used when we are talking about Aboriginal organizations or people. With COVID, I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government spends a lot of money on sending people South for addiction treatment and, when they come back, we have resources to support them, but one thing that I've heard from some of the people is that they're looking for a place to go, whether it be for a day, an hour, a week, when they feel that they may relapse. I would to ask the Minister of health if her department is willing to take a look at maybe identifying a centre or addressing that somehow, so people don't have to leave the Northwest Territories when they feel like they're going to relapse, but where...

Right now we have a high-rise in Hay River with 122 apartments, and I am not sure if there is something that we can do to get that up and running. It would alleviate some of the housing concerns in Hay River and help out the Housing Corporation. Can the Minister confirm where we may be with making any head way working with the owner to get that operational again?