Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I announced A Foundation for Change, Building a Healthy Future for the NWT for 2009-2012. This document will be tabled later today.

A Foundation for Change is about our future. We need to make changes to our Health and Social Services system now, to ensure our communities and our children continue to have access to affordable, quality health care and social services in the future.

Mr. Speaker, Northerners have access to some of the best health and social services available anywhere. We continue to invest extensively in the health and wellness of our people...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I am well aware of the fact that the Centre for Northern Families provides a very valuable service to marginalized and vulnerable homeless women living in Yellowknife. I am also aware that the centre has experienced cash flows and debt issues and that it is having a difficult financial time. Our department and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment have been working with the Centre for Northern Families. We will continue to work to look at what the financial challenges are and look for some solutions as to how we could go about working on debt...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to just add a few words to the debate today.

Mr. Speaker, I, like many others here, did not know what would be included in this report. I spent some time on the weekend reading this report and I must say I had to read it a few times. I know Commissioner Hughes. He was our Conflict of Interest Commissioner. He used to walk up and down the hall. I loved finding moments here and there to talk to him. He’s a wise, well-learned, highly respected and a reputable man in the legal world, but also for a lot of work that he has done. I think we are lucky to have a man...

Mr. Speaker, I believe there are specific practice guidelines on this which I don’t have right now, so I will have to take the question under advisement and get back to the Member. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, in the fiscal year 2007-08, we have government departments combined, between Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment, the Housing Corporation and MACA, about $940,000 to the organization. I understand and I appreciate; I am not going to challenge that. I have too much respect for the work that this centre does to argue about details of the money here, because I want to respect their privacy rights and such.

What I am saying is we value the work that they do. We are committed to working with them to support them, and that, in order for us to ensure financial...

Mr. Speaker, the financial difficulties of the centre has been an issue that has been ongoing for many, many years. The government has provided funding to the centre under different programs. We very much value the services that they provide. What we need to do is to work with them. We are working with them to find out more of the details about their financial difficulties and then to see how we could…We need to determine what is being underfunded and what options we have to secure their financial stability. Right now we don’t have all of the details on their financial situation in terms of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Member for bringing this issue to the attention of the House. I would be happy to consult with my colleagues in Cabinet as well as on the other side, as well as municipal leaders and the Status of Women and the Native Women’s Association of the NWT to learn more about this initiative and see how we could implement it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 4, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This goes to, obviously, the core of the service that our health care professionals do provide and I believe there are practice guidelines on that. I will, once again, take the question under advisement. I will get back to the Member on that and verify what is on there. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Generally speaking, that call will be determined by the situation, obviously, and also the availability of nurses in the health centre. Sometimes if they have to be on call -- I mean, they usually have to be on call -- they may not be able to leave the centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.