Sandy Lee

Thank you very much. I thought I was being ordered…

---Laughter

…ordered out even before I’ve said anything. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Seeing as this is going to be a recorded vote, I just wanted to state my position on this. I will be voting along with Mr. Braden against this bill in protest for some of the items that are in this bill. Mr. Speaker, I just want to state very strongly that I don’t want to impute motive on anything, but I really think the Members on that side are taking it for granted that we will just pass and we will stamp this supplementary bill because we always have. I don’t...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s commitment on the courts division report. With respect to the SMCC review, even if he cannot give us information on what the findings were, could he at least provide us with the information as to why the study was necessary in the first place? Explain what it was about, why they had to do it, who did the study, when it was done and what was done with it, without going into the details. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, a 2002 feasibility and market research study commissioned by the YACCS has shown very clearly that there is huge need for senior housing in Yellowknife, because there are a lot more people now retiring in Yellowknife and that’s a good thing and the government should welcome that and accommodate essential needs of seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I could tell you that there are Avens independent courts in the middle of Yellowknife, there are 24 units and last year there was a zero turnover rate in that 24-unit complex. This year there was one, and there is a waiting list of 10. Clearly, at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m talking about the importance of a government department like the Housing Corporation in its effort to provide affordable housing in an efficient way, an economical way and that’s…(inaudible)…but I’m saying, Mr. Speaker, and I am saying to the Minister and the entire government that they can’t be trying to achieve that by breaking their own policies willingly. I think I’ve made my point there, Mr. Speaker.

Another point I want to make, and that’s going back to the seniors’ housing, the goals and objectives that the YACCS has cannot be met with only the help of the...

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...