Sandy Lee

Thank you. I’m going to invite my deputy minister to add details, if she feels they’re needed.

I think we’re mixing up a whole bunch of programs here. First of all, I want to say, because I received an e-mail from a student who was I think offended, maybe she was, that I was suggesting... She thought that I was suggesting that a graduate out of a Nursing Program from Aurora College is not ready to be a nurse. That’s not in any way what I meant. I think what we’re talking about is being practice ready. In any profession, whether you’re an engineer, lawyer, doctor, nurse or whatever, you learn...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That’s not part of the budget we have here, but the Member has raised that before and I committed to him last week that we will revisit that. It would take major changes, actually, because most of this money is already... That $2.931 million, most of it is going to, well, all of it is going to Nats’ejee Keh, Salvation Army and Tree of Peace. That’s the budget. If we want to use that money to do something different, it would take, you know, changes in doing things, but I think we need to look at that. I’ve committed to the Member that we will do that, and we need to do...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my left I have the deputy minister of Health and Social Services, Paddy Meade, and to my right is Mr. Derek Elkin, director of finance. Thank you.

The MLA for Yellowknife Centre used the word “mismanagement” on Friday and I believe that’s the reason why he apologized today. I don’t know for sure. So I would like the Member for Great Slave to reconsider what he said.

As the Member knows, because that’s his background, and I understand -- well, he lets us know that’s his background -- the CHN program is run by Human Resources, so if he’s suggesting somebody mismanaged, perhaps the Minister of HR should answer to that. I am not disagreeing with the Member that we need to review this, but it is quite something else to say I don’t believe...

That program is broken into different authorities and different programs. We will have to undertake to get that. We don’t have specific amounts that attach to that bullet. That bullet is a statement of programs and services we do provide. Thank you.

It’s government money. It’s not federal funding. It’s part of the strategic initiative investment and Building our Future. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Member that this is a big issue in our small communities. There are a number of seniors who are in need of housing repairs and I think it is a multi-faceted issue. I think it is something that the government, in different departments, as well as local leadership need to work together on resolving this. Because in so many of our communities there is lack of capacity, lack of tradespeople, lack of programs to repair some of the not just houses but lots of things that go in the house like a furnace and all sorts of things. It is something I think the government...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I did say I was referring to Community Health Nurse Development Program and I don’t believe we suggested that that was being delivered out of Aurora College. I would not question the Member’s knowledge of that area, I was simply answering the MLA for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Could we get the Member to restate that question? Page 8-29 and he was talking about persons needing assistance to live at home? I’m not sure; if he could give us more information, we could answer that.

As long as I’ve been here, for 12 years, that issue has come up. I believe that suggestion has come up very regularly and it’s a decision that the Minister of Finance and government as a whole has to make in coming up and directing that taxation and setting up a direct program that flows from that. There are pros and cons in that, I believe. But it would not be our department’s decision but a government decision.