Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I today, too, want to comment on the government’s response to the Child and Family Services Act review report. On first reading of those responses, I was disappointed. Although the majority of recommendations are accepted, they are not accepted unconditionally. To paraphrase Mr. Bromley, those responses indicate, yup, we agree, but can’t do anything because there is no money; and yup, we agree, but there is no change required.

The government’s response was determined by examining each recommendation in light of two criteria. One, will it improve service delivery and make...

Thanks to the Minister and thanks for the clarification on the staffing. I knew that and kind of didn’t state it that way, but I am glad to hear there will be three home support workers in the community of Aklavik. I think that’s a good thing.

I wanted to ask a question about the amount of funding in this budget for homelessness. Could the Minister initially tell me what programs that we run for homelessness? I believe there is a couple but if she could name them for me. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too was going to ask about multiyear funding agreements for NGOs. I just have a quick follow-up question to Mr. Abernethy’s. The government has recently put out a program manager’s guide to NGOs. The Minister mentions they are reviewing agreements that the department has with NGOs. Are they using that program manager’s guide to assist them in their reviews? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that commitment. I guess I would refer the Minister to a letter from the Executive Council that responded to a letter from Food First Foundation. You might ask the Minister of ECE for a copy because I think he signed it.

I wanted to also ask in terms of mental health and addictions. The information that we were given, again in the business plan in September, is that the department was doing a review of mental health and addictions programs. That review was going to be completed, I think, in November 2010. I’d like to ask first if that review is indeed completed, and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to start by following up on the issue of child and family services committees further to Mr. Abernethy’s comments. In looking at the business plan that we reviewed in September, there’s a specific reference in the business plan to establishing child and family service committees in at least five more communities in this business year, and that was targeted for year ‘11-12. I’d like to know from the Minister what changed between September and the finalization of the department’s budget that she now says they will try to get five communities with child and family...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have one question. I wanted to follow up to the questions and answers from Mr. Bromley earlier relative to the possible changes to the Extended Health Benefits Program and the concern I think that all Members have with those who are not currently covered. I don’t think there was any argument during the debate on the changes to the Supplementary Health Program that we did not want to cover those people who aren’t covered, and if I understood the Minister correctly, I heard her say that there will not be any consideration of how to cover those people until the 17th...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Forty years ago Canada initially started its fight against poverty with the founding of the National Poverty Foundation, now called Canada Without Poverty. Forty years ago a special senate committee on poverty published a report, a report which opened with the words, “Poverty is the great social issue of our time. Unless we act now, nationally, in a new and purposeful way, five million Canadians will continue to find life a bleak, bitter and never-ending struggle for survival.”

We haven’t made much progress on poverty as a country in the last 40 years, Mr. Speaker, and...

I’m sorry. That didn’t really help. Maybe I should ask the question what do physicians, an approximation of the number that physicians cost us on an annual basis. Thank you.

Thanks for that explanation on the client navigator.

I just have one quick question. The Minister made a statement this week about Drop the Pop and I wondered if I could get an explanation from her, or a bit of an elaboration on whether or not this program will also target energy drinks, which I think are probably even more evil than pop is. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I guess it begs the question to the Minister: if it is a system debt and it has been three years that they have been trying to rework the system debt, how come we haven’t seen any change in the various health authorities? Why are they still working with budgets which are obviously unworkable? They are obviously underfunded.

The Minister referenced a number of things that the department is doing. I support all of those things, but I guess I am wondering why we aren’t seeing some effect of the changes that are happening, the efficiencies that are being found, the reworking of...