Tom Beaulieu

Mr. Chairman, I wish to move that we report progress.

---Carried

I thank the Minister for that response. I just want to touch on a couple of areas of homelessness, near homelessness or whatever. I just wanted to group these two issues together and ask the Minister two questions. On the whole issue of homelessness in smaller communities, I think that we’re continuing to have difficulty identifying homelessness in small communities. There is no provision in small communities for people that are homeless. So if you are homeless in a smaller community, essentially you just sleep on someone else’s couch. It’s not like an issue of being able to go somewhere into...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Committee will continue the consideration of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister direct his staff to contact and work the daycare programs in Lutselk'e and Fort Resolution to review their needs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Within our work with the Committee on Sustainable Rural and Remote Communities we have allocated money to early childhood development. Can the Minister of ECE advise me if any of that money will be targeted to daycares?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to talk about daycare programs in Lutselk’e and Fort Resolution. Mr. Speaker, we know how important it is for preschool children and those from K to 6 to have a positive nurturing environment to grow up in. The Tinkers and Tots program in Lutselk’e and Little Darlings Daycare in Fort Resolution provide this atmosphere for the children. Mr. Speaker, these programs are doing a great service in each of these communities. These programs are operating on minimum funding but yet it is still providing a fun, structured, positive environment for the children...

I would like to thank the Minister for that answer. I think for the interest of time here, I will ask two quick questions. One is that to get a little bit of a reason as to why home care almost dropped by a million dollars when what I am seeing in the communities I represent is a greater need for home care and also something of a family shelter. Right now it is difficult to set up any sort of family shelters in very small communities because of the nature of that type of work. It is difficult to place families in a shelter in the community and there is no actual infrastructure in place for...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, currently the Standing Committee on Social Programs is undertaking a review of the Child and Family Services Act. I’m looking at the budget in this area and from our meetings that we’re having so far with the stakeholders and staff, it’s apparent that stakeholders don’t feel that there’s enough money in the system to help all the people that come to them. And it’s fairly evident that social workers are handling too many cases at one time and it’s causing, certainly causing some problems for the delivery of services that are necessary for family and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 21.

---Unanimous consent granted.