Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is being built in Hay River is a modern health centre, and the term “hospital” often refers to what is being provided. Tertiary care is being provided in there. In the health centre we will be providing other types of services. We’re going to have acute care beds in the health centre and emergency beds. Essentially all of the services that are being provided by H.H. Williams will be provided in the health centre. Some of the things that may move offsite could be social services, public health and administration, finance and so on. Aside from that, all of the...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

The department is responding to the Members in the House and responding to the people of the Territories. We are going to be tabling a Mental Health and Addictions Plan this session, and within that plan it talks about the various ways that we’re going to attempt to treat individuals suffering from mental health and addictions.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was responding to a piece of infrastructure that possibly could be used for the treatment of youth. What we have discovered is that a youth treatment facility is youth going into a treatment facility may not necessarily work the best. Most youth that enter treatment are forced into a treatment facility. That is why most of the youth that go to a residential treatment facility end up going to the South. But I was suggesting that maybe there is something that can be developed that is community and culturally specific so that the youth can attend treatment closer to home...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

Yes, I think we can do that if we talk to the centre. As we talked about trying to do some specific alcohol treatment in that facility so that we’re trying to utilize it more. We can talk to the community about specifically putting one of those blocks of time in for youth. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

Thank you. There is the problem, the fact that there are five, four and three youth going to treatment. It’s very difficult to have a facility that services that type of number.

What we’re looking at with the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan is we’re going to the communities and we’re trying to find ways where the youth can get treatment using one of the things that the communities asked us to do, is use the elders. Take the youth and the elders out on the land and see if that works as a treatment option. Because if they are self-identified, those are the numbers we have. If they’re...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

The department and I will be going into Hay River before the end of June to have a public meeting and provide the information to the public. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

Long-term care is not really an appropriate place to be housed in a hospital. The hospital, I guess, is not really an appropriate place to house long-term care, is what I’m trying to say. So what we’re looking at is we do want to take the 10 long-term care beds in the current hospital and move them as part of the overall long-term care units that are being provided in Hay River now.

Right now we are going to be doing a midlife retrofit of the Woodland Manor long-term care facility and that’s going to happen between 2015 and 2020. This hospital is scheduled to start construction this fall and...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

It’s a three-year plan, so we’re going to have to do something very quickly. Within this coming budget that’s approved, we’ve got some money put in there. The Standing Committee on Social Programs has asked us to add more money into prevention and treatment, so we’re looking at that. So we don’t have a long, long period to contemplate this. We’re going to start actioning the plan as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 1)

Yes, we are prepared to look at those buildings. When we travelled into the communities, that was something that the community suggested, that perhaps without an in-depth analysis of any sort, the community suggested that maybe this building would be good for a youth treatment facility.

We are prepared to look at that, but first we want to do wellness plans. That is working with the communities, going to the communities, getting some information from the communities so that the communities will tell us what they think will work in the area of treatment of youth and adults, of course. Yes, I...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 9)

Yes, I’m prepared to represent the seniors and have a discussion with the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation on this issue. Thank you.