Tom Beaulieu

Mr. Speaker, the target for finalization of the legislative proposal for the Mental Health Act review is for the winter of 2014. I’m hoping that’s early winter and not late winter 2014. If that’s not the case, then I will report back to the Member. My understanding is it’s early winter 2014. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’m not a health professional. That responsibility for placing an individual in one of the acute care beds for going through medical detoxification would be made by a physician. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’m having a meeting with the JLC, Joint Leadership Council of all authorities, on the 13th and 14th. We’ll discuss it at that time. It should be soon after that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I became aware of the name shortly before the press release had occurred. Unfortunately, during the time when the decision was being made, we were in Ulukhaktok at the Caucus meeting. From Ulukhaktok, I then went south immediately, and that press release occurred on the day that I travelled to southern Canada.

The information is not given to me until the decision is made. I knew that we were seeking a CEO. I knew that. The deputy kept me advised that they were interviewing individuals, and the process was that once the decision was made, I would be advised. At this time I was...

I don’t have the number of individuals that have taken advantage of the four treatment centres that we have contracts with in the South; however, I do know that when individuals have approached Health and Social Services, whether it be through a wellness office in their community or through the department or through one of the authorities, that it’s been fairly quick. The process is very quick and the individual is able to go out for treatment in a very short time basis, and that is what we were trying to achieve. But the numbers of the people that went and the numbers that had completed the...

Thank you. There wasn’t medical detox occurring at Nats’ejee K’eh, number one. People were on a waiting list and they had to wait for six weeks in community counselling before they get to Nats’ejee K’eh. So there was no actual medical detox occurring in Nats’ejee K’eh.

Medical detox is available at the hospitals and individuals can be given hospital beds for medical detox based upon requests. At this time if individuals need medical detoxification outside of the hospital environment, then our option is to send that individual or individuals who are requiring medical detox to the southern...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 18-17(4), Organ Donation and Human Tissue Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. In all honesty, there was an idea at some point to increase the role in Hay River in the management of some of the Deh Cho communities. However, that was not accepted. It was something that we discussed for a very short time period and that was something that the communities in the Deh Cho did not accept. The new public administrator that was appointed to replace the board did not accept that, based on his discussions with the leadership in the Deh Cho. So we are not planning on rolling Deh Cho Health and Social Services under the Hay River authority.

In Hay River we will provide...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point the plan for the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority is to remain with the public administrator – myself and the public administrator spoke – for at least two years in order to do some of the work that we think is necessary, some of the issues that we’re dealing with in the Deh Cho Health and Social Services. Thank you.

I’ll talk a little bit about the original process. The original process was quite a long delay, where an individual had to be clean and sober and follow up with some community counselling, and then wait for the next intake into a treatment centre to go. Now, with the contracts that we have in the South that have continuous intake, I don’t think it’s every day but I think the intake is on a weekly basis, so every week new people wanting treatment come into the facility.

Our idea is once an individual comes into the system and requests treatment, that we try to bring them into the next intake at...