Jane Weyallon Armstrong

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Municipal funding gap. Mr. Speaker, on May 29th of this year, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight tabled a report in this House that noted the municipal funding gap under the current formula would not work without substantial investment. Members discussed a funding formula that equalizes the gap for communities across the Northwest Territories. The government responded on June 13th, noting that MACA recently updated its community government funding policies to, one, provide a more equitable distribution of funding by basing allocations on a needs...

Well, two houses -- two houses are being retrofitted. Is it currently being retrofitted? Because I know one house was already retrofitted and that was not done by the housing; it was done by the Indigenous government that retrofitted that house because they really needed a client to move in there that was a forest fire victim. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. I know the need is great throughout the Northwest Territories and there's 12 units that you just mentioned, but I'm just wondering if the Minister can answer me. Does the department really have any money to do work on these units, or is it just to get people's hope up that, okay, there's actually three units that's going to be retrofitted and hopefully the waiting list will go down? Because from what I heard from the -- in Behchoko is that they're asking people to move out of the unit because they're going to fix up the unit, so they're going to do a retrofit when, in fact...

What's that?

Mr. Speaker, this is not good. Well, this is not good for small communities, especially, for example, Wekweeti. It's not really comparable to Yellowknife. Wekweeti relies more on funding because of the high cost of living. It's not just Wekweeti; it's other communities. Even the Sahtu region, we've been getting e-mails about the high cost of living and yet it appears they will be getting less. So can the Minister explain whether there is a different funding formula being used to take into account community size, or is this offset somehow? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, yes, thank you for the information. Mr. Speaker, I have an issue with this formula. I would like to know what studies were done to show the formula is adequately meeting the needs of small communities? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Mackenzie Delta, that, pursuant to Rule 9.4(5)(a), the Government of the Northwest Territories table a comprehensive response to Committee Report 16-20(1), including all recommendations, within 120 days or at the earliest opportunity subsequent to the passage of 120 days. Thank you.

Standing Committee On Social DevelopmentReport On Statutory Review: Mental Health Act

Executive Summary

The Standing Committee on Social Development (Committee) was tasked with undertaking the first statutory review of the Mental Health Act (Act). Committee sought feedback on the Act to inform its statutory review.

Committee appreciates everyone who offered their feedback at public meetings and in written submissions. Committee thanks the Department of Health and Social Services for their willingness to work with us, and for providing great insight on the current operations of the Act, including...

Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker [Translation] … Anita Wedzin, Diane Lafferty, Deniza -- and Linda Mantla, they're all here; they live here in Yellowknife, going to school. They want to, they are looking to further, to education. I know that their parents and their family members and also a lot of these young kids, I don't know who they are from the school, I am happy that they are here, I do believe, and also they are here with their teachers as well, the ones that are here, masi cho. [Translation Ends]

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope he will answer my questions, for Minister of MACA. So can the Minister explain what money MACA provides for training first responders in small communities? Thank you.