Tom Beaulieu

If I knew what the plan was I wouldn’t hire a bunch of people to go into the communities to check with the communities what they think the issues with addictions are, and how they think that the addiction issues should be addressed in the communities. The group, in my opinion, in a very short time period have to travel around to the communities. The plan is to come back to this government to what the communities think would be the most effective method in addressing addictions in their communities. That is what we want to move forward with.

I guess, in addition to the preventative maintenance program and the home heating subsidy, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs offers the homeowner a complete tax break, 100 percent tax relief on their home on an annual basis, which is a program that the senior must apply for. There are other areas, such as cost of living, for groceries and so on. This government has some programs in some communities where they would reduce the cost of their service to the seniors and to others in the communities, but targeted specifically to the seniors, I think those are the three programs the...

In recognition that it is fairly costly to operate a home ownership unit, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has a seniors home heating subsidy. That has been targeted to be sufficient to heat the home during the winter months. Also, the Housing Corporation has a preventative maintenance program targeted to seniors that has gradually climbed up from the beginning of approximately $800-some-odd, and a different program has evolved into a more elaborate program, and now they can provide up to $2,000 for seniors to do preventative maintenance in their home.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize and congratulate the Fort Resolution Road Runners Boys 12 and Under Soccer Team who won a gold medal in Grande Prairie, Alberta, back in May of 2012. Although belated, I would like to acknowledge this team since I am proud of the team’s achievements.

The Fort Resolution Road Runners Boys 12 and Under Soccer Team also included a couple of girls 12 and under since there were not enough boys to complete the team. The team travelled to Grande Prairie, Alberta, for an annual children’s soccer tournament from May 27th to June 1, 2012. The team...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In response to a recent incident in Fort McPherson, the department has committed to supporting the community, specifically that community, it’s something that can be expanded. It was also requested in Tsiigehtchic. First responder training is something that we commit to providing to the communities.

Thank you. Yes, the intention is to roll the program out. So Fort Providence will be a good candidate. I think a medium-sized community is what we want to expand into. So, yes, I will commit to expanding the program into Fort Providence. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in response yesterday, we are starting to work in the diabetes field. As the Member indicated earlier, it is relatively new. We are still about 2 percent under the national average in the Northwest Territories. Diabetes is a chronic disease. It is becoming an issue. We are starting off setting up the diabetes programs by doing pilot projects in Norman Wells, Yellowknife and Behchoko. Also, there is a Diabetes Program in Yellowknife that is available and through YK Health and Social Services. Recognizing that Fort Providence is part of Deh Cho Health and...

I thought I did indicate that those programs had seen increases. I recognize that if the individual needed to live in their home, to make it more barrier-free for the seniors to remain in their home longer, then that’s a larger program that’s offered by the Housing Corporation called CARE that can do that. But in as far as looking at the Consumer Price Index and how that impacts the seniors, then definitely, the Housing Corporation has made appropriate increases in the preventative maintenance program and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has made appropriate increases in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services does work with MACA and the NWT Housing Corporation to come up with ways to try to keep seniors in their home as long as possible, and to provide services to the seniors in order to remain in their home. I think it’s just a matter of collaboration. I guess that would be the system that we’re collaborating on, trying to make sure that seniors can remain in their homes as long as possible.

Mr. Speaker, in 2011 the Auditor General of Canada recommended improvements to the department’s ability to evaluate and report on performance. Specifically, the Auditor General recommended that we implement system-wide indicators, develop a program evaluation plan for the health and social services system, and regularly inform this Assembly about the performance of the system. Mr. Speaker, later today I will table the first annual report on the strategic plan.

Mr. Speaker, we take recommendations from the Auditor General very seriously. Last year we published an updated strategic plan for the...