Wendy Bisaro

That’s all.

Thanks to the Minister. If I can put it another way: The contract is let for a certain amount, but the GNWT funds the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority at a lesser amount. Is that correct?

Thanks to the Minister for those comments. I would like to say that I appreciate that we’re going in this direction. I think it is the right way to go.

I’ll ask the question and the Minister can confirm when we get to the section, but I’d like to know whether or not there’s an increase to the base for the Charlotte Vehus Group Home and Billy Moore Assisted Living Group Home contracts when we get to that section. It’s the same principle and my questions apply to both of those. So that’s all I have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks, Mr. Premier. My last question then goes to if we have a review that’s done in the next six months or so – and I think that’s a reasonable time frame – I’d like to know from the Premier if it’s feasible that we could expect the establishment of an ombudsman office within the life of this 17th Assembly.

Thanks to the Premier for those remarks. I guess I would like to advise the Premier that there’s one other wheel that he forgot to mention, and that’s the Yukon’s wheel and it’s only $600,000. So I don’t think we’re going to go anywhere near $10 million.

I mentioned gaps in my statement. There certainly are gaps in what we currently have, and specifically I’d like to mention a gap I believe exists for residents who encounter a problem with a government staff person. So I’d like to know from the Minister what currently exists for clients of GNWT services – and that would be our residents in most...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last June, June 6th to be exact, the 17th Assembly passed a motion asking the government to establish an ombudsman office. Several weeks ago the government responded to that motion and the response was tabled in the House. The response was neither a yes nor a no, which was both disappointing and hope inducing.

In the response following a summary of what the ombudsman does not do, the government stated: “The Government of the Northwest Territories is currently reviewing these legislated-based rights, as well as a number of policy and program-based rights of appeal, to...

Thanks to Mr. Kalgutkar for that. No, I don’t remember that. Too many numbers too often, I guess. If the Minister could make available to Regular Members what’s been expended, that would be great. Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I wanted to ask a question here, as well, with regard to the special warrants. They are both rather large sums. They are the bulk of what we are looking at in this supplementary appropriation. The special warrants are done while the firefighting season is still on, and it’s an estimate of what it’s going to cost to deal with all the fires and what it’s going to cost us to get to the end of the season. Now that we are at the end of the season, I wonder if the Minister could advise whether or not there is an expectation that we will fully expend the $7.2 million and the $6.951...

Just one last question here. To the Minister, I would hope that if we are adding money to the base funding that we give to the health and social services authority, is it correct that we should not see this kind of a request for a supp approval in ’13-14?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I’m going to try and see if I can clarify this here. I have a question to the Minister. Is this money that is being asked for for these two group homes, is that money because the contractor has asked for an increase in the contract price for this particular fiscal year, or is the money going to the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority to deal with their deficit?