Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, absolutely I will work with the Member to make sure that we have all the resources and staff necessary from the Beaufort-Delta authority who could be there with us. Secondly, I am looking at the first week after the holidays in January as a travel time to go to the Inuvik area and Tsiigehtchic and the surrounding communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be happy to provide the Member with information on what the government contributes to every community that gets money for this kind of service, as well as the legislative changes that are required and some of the resource pressure for us to come up with a plan that works for everybody. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will continue to have to work hard to recruit and retain nurses in our facilities. In Tsiigehtchic right now, I understand as of November 13th we have an agency nurse providing service there. If that is not available and they can’t do the full coverage, the responsibility is with the Beaufort-Delta Health Authority to make sure that people are aware of the communication plan. I understand there was some gaps in that about two weeks ago and the response letter went to the community from the authority to explain what was expected there. I don’t have the details with me...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, specific to that question, I would be happy to review that with my department and see where we can improve for the Hay River Health Authority. In the larger picture, Mr. Speaker, the need for this study came about because of the fact that this service is provided very much in a patchwork fashion all over the Territories. A lot of municipal governments are in charge of that and have to incur extra cost in delivering those services, much of them based on volunteer services and many communities and many highways are not covered adequately. So, Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As indicated, there is someone looking at this situation and I’m sure they will be looking at that sort of question as well. If that’s what will come out of that, we will certainly consider that information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the challenge is to put it in the capital plan and it is in the works. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to get back to the Member on exactly where it’s at in terms of its planning process and where it is in the books. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I plan on doing extensive work on that. We are planning a visit to Resolution to meet with the leadership and to review the programs that are available there. So, yes, I will work closely with the Member to see what we can do with this facility and what extended services we could provide to elders in the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, based on the successes we’ve had with respect to installing dialysis machines in Fort Smith to start with, outside of Yellowknife, of course, and Hay River, there is a plan in the near future to make dialysis machines available in Simpson. The issues the department are working on right now is with respect to the space at the centre, as well as staffing. Definitely this project is in the works. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that there have been, for a long time, very in-depth ongoing discussions between the department and the community of Resolution with regards to the best use of this facility and that all of the assessments that have been done suggest that the facility, the way it was built -- and it was built by the NWT Housing Corporation -- wasn’t meant for extended care facility for seniors. It was meant more for seniors who were able to live more independently. To make it into an extended care unit will require very extensive renovation including...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the project is reviewed as either a renovation or a new capital project, the cost-benefit analysis changes because you have to look at the lifetime cost and such. Anyway, Mr. Speaker, let me just make a commitment with the Members to give her and yourself more information about where it is at. I just don’t have that detailed information that the Member is asking for just now. Thank you.