Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to need some help here, because I don’t know if I am supposed to direct my question to the Minister of FMBS or Minister Dent to confirm. I have said in both our meetings with Minister Dent and Minister Roland I don’t believe there were firm commitments that this will be shared. So could I get the Minister to commit today that insofar as is possible, without violating anyone’s private rights, that he will make the findings of the report available to the Members? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a friend of this House and my partner at Tim Horton’s and still my very favourite MLA, Mr. Tony Whitford. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my written question is to the Honourable David Krutko, Minister responsible for the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Please provide information on what steps have been taken by the WCB to accommodate and to fall in line with the findings of the Supreme Court decision, cited as Nova Scotia WCB vs Martin [2003] 2S.C.R.504, in terms of the board’s policy on compensatory and rehabilitation program benefits for those NWT claimants who suffer from the disability of chronic pain.

Please provide answers to the following:

Are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say I don’t really like the general approach of all the Ministers. For some reason doing something for Yellowknife takes away from doing things for other communities, and I don’t accept that. Secondly, Mr. Speaker, the government has already set a precedent. We’re building a bridge, the government is funding it, but there are other people who are benefiting from it and the government is bridging with a private partner. Why can we not do that for seniors?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister is only partially correct. He is correct and I give him credit and I give the government credit in saying that the YK Health and Department of Health and Social Services has given extra money to Aven Manor so that they could take care of seniors with dementia, which I would argue is their job, but thank you very much for giving that money.

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Mr. Speaker, I would also say that YACCS is not looking for capital funding. YACCS is proposing that they will go out to the private market to borrow the money to build this facility...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services and it’s further to my Member’s statement. Mr. Speaker, I believe it is very clear that the YACCS, which stands for Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors, have done all the work. They have the vision in place, they have plans in place, they have a plan for the Aven Manor, they have a plan for Aven seniors’ independent courts and their plan is like a domino or puzzle. One has to work in order for the rest of the pieces to fit, and they have a long-term plan to have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today about the needs for senior housing in Yellowknife, and the need for the Department of Health and Social Services and the NWT Housing Corporation to partner strongly in meeting the objectives of the YACCS in Yellowknife who's excellent work in this area.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to just make a short statement in support of this motion. I would like to first of all reiterate the points that I made about the need for senior housing in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, which is very, very dire. Right now really the only independent units for seniors that are available in the city is the Aven independent courts, and that only has 24 units and it runs at full capacity all year round and it has been for the last 10 years that it’s been in existence. There are some seniors' units available in Mary Murphy and Northern United Place...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to recognize a local accountant, housewife and keen observer of this House, Ms. Connie Henderson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know if he could give support in principle that if the need is found in this study, that he would look positively at giving operational funding that he would have to spend as the Minister of Health anyway for seniors. Thank you.