Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that the Speaker be authorized to set such sitting days and hours as the Speaker, after consultation, deems fit to assist with the business before the House.

I thank the Minister for, I guess, being very... She answered my next question before I asked it, but I didn’t get an answer to the first one. I’d like to know from the Minister whether or not this review will look at the after-care needs of patients and look at the service providers who try to provide that after-care. I would also like to know relative to patients being released early, which is where the Minister went, is can we look at legislation and change our legislation to assist in that particular area of difficulty.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I talked in my statement about mental health and addictions programs and services in the NWT and about the needs that we have and that we don’t have the resources to meet those needs.

I mentioned the mental health review that the Minister mentioned to us in the last couple of days. My first question to the Minister is if she could advise what the focus of this particular mental health and addictions review is.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we’ve heard already, this is Mental Wellness Week and I want to speak on it as well.

It’s no secret to any of us that in the NWT our communities and our residents struggle with the issue of mental health. We struggle for any number of reasons: the after-effects of residential school, drug and alcohol addictions, the aftermath of child apprehensions, family violence, stress from parenting, caring for elders or parents, and just from being a kid in today’s world. As a government we struggle to help our people be mentally well, especially our youth. Incidents of youth...

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, February 10, 2011, it shall be adjourned until Monday, February 14, 2011;

AND FURTHER, that any time prior to February 14, 2011, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to hear about the legislation being looked at, because to me that is the crux of the issue of why we release patients way too early. They’re not ready to be released but they can’t be held. Can the Minister advise if there are recommendations to change the legislation and when that might come forward?

Thank you. If it is about resources, I’d like to ask the Minister is she planning for the future, and I would hope that she would say yes. If she says yes, I’d like to know how the Minister intends to accommodate the 20 or 30 individuals in Yellowknife alone who will need accommodation in independent or assisted living in the next five to 10 years. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to go back and see if I could get some specific answers to some of the questions I asked earlier. I would like to address these questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I am not talking about a specific case. I would like the Minister to try and think globally and think a bit beyond any specific individual or group of individuals. Firstly, I would like to ask the Minister if she can give me the name of the policy that addresses the provision of housing for NWT residents who require assisted living. Thank you.

To the Minister, I didn’t ask about whether or not you were in the business of housing and I wasn’t asking about particular placement options. I’m talking about housing and getting the necessary capacity of housing that we need. It’s well known that we have a need within the whole of the NWT assisted living housing, whether it be rented, whether it be built. I’d like to know if the department would consider establishing a process to actively build up the housing supply for assisted living and whether they would partner with the Housing Corporation to build the necessary types of housing that’s...

Just a quick follow-up on the Healthy Choices Program. I didn’t get from the Minister whether or not an evaluation has ever been done. I am presuming from her answer if she is following up, that no evaluation has been done. Could I get clarification on that, please?