Tom Beaulieu

It will form a part in the Mental Health Strategy. The idea of the program, once it’s been reviewed, piloted, evaluated, the idea is that the department plans to expand the program right across the territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the things that the department is doing is offering community counselling programs in every region in every community. So the counsellors and wellness workers are available to assist youth, and youth who are showing problems, and emotional problems, and having emotions in dealing with issues of being bullied in schools. Thank you.

I will work with the NWT Seniors’ Society, which is made up of seniors from all the communities – I believe the president of the seniors’ societies in the various communities for the NWT Seniors’ Society – to see if we could redistribute the money that’s going to the seniors. If it’s possible to put little pots of money into the communities so they can do those functions, I will make note of and discuss that with the NWT Seniors’ president and the society. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time the funding from the Department of Health and Social Services for seniors’ groups in the Northwest Territories is to the NWT Seniors’ Society which, in turn, works with the seniors’ societies at the community level.

I don’t have the timeline with me here. I will commit to providing that information back to the Member as soon as the department is able to give me the details on when that strategy will be in place.

This is a fairly large group of individuals. One of the key aspects of the work will be to cost out this type of benefit, and once the benefit is costed out, then this government would have to come back to the House in the business planning process to get the money together. It’s not going to be in this business plan, so I will commit to the Member that we can do the costing for the next business plan.

Yes, we have. In the difference between the year when last year when the Joe Greenland Centre had housed the eight people that were level 1 and 2 in the facility, we had 139 home care visits into the private home or into the units that are allocated in the Joe Greenland or around the community from the Housing Corporation, to just under 700 visits the year after that portion of the facility was changed to independent living. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I will meet the NWT Seniors’ Society. I have met with the Seniors' Society once since being appointed the Minister responsible for Seniors, and they know that I’m prepared to meet with them again any time that they wish to meet with me. I think we may actually have a meeting scheduled in a very short time here. I will bring that specific issue up at that time. Thank you.

The Department of Health and Social Services offers a range of programs to all seniors across the territory in all the communities. They range from home care to long-term care, extended care and other seniors’ benefits across the territory. I don’t believe there are any monies actually marked for specific seniors’ societies in the communities, but there is money given to the community for those very seniors. Thank you.

The department is doing a pharmacy strategy. I’m sure all the costs of medicine, pills, pharmaceuticals are within that strategy.