Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the health department has recently launched a survey for people who have engaged in addictions services, and I am hoping that we do get some good responses as to what I have been saying. People who have gone through the system are feeling that they have been dropped, kind of, at the end. Indigenous people, I have said it in this House before, have a hard time trusting health systems, have a hard time trusting the counselling system. It's not culturally appropriate to some. Some people, once they have sobered up, they don't want to go to the counsellor if it...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Out of this $35 million, then, we are spending $35 million on 114 residents. I know I stressed this the last time we brought up the mains, and now we are going out for an RFP to see how we can plan on possibly transitioning some of these residents home. My question for some of this is: what is the percentage of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous of these people who are outside of the NWT in these facilities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the Minister. Will the Minister commit to having staff being proactive? If they are government staff and this is the department that falls under her, they are the ones sending them out, or if we're paying for them to go out for treatment, proactive in connecting with all residents exiting treatment facilities to ensure that they have some sort of process and follow-up and support coming from treatment.

No. I am on page 189.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The time most individuals spend in a southern residential treatment facility represents a small period of time when you compare the many years a person has taken to get themselves to the recovery stage. Going to a treatment facility is the biggest and most important step for many in their journey to recovery from addiction, but it is only one step that is part of their healing journey. When we look at our communities, we lack the supports required to help them remain in recovery. This creates endless cycles of homelessness, family violence, and trips to southern...

No further questions. Thank you.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Okay. No, I just wanted to make sure. We look at and see the homecare. We see long-term care. When you're in a community the size of mine, you see people working in long-term care, going from house to house. They would have different jobs. They have different circles, and then they have family circles. They take precaution to go in. I get that the CPHO has put these rules in place to protect our most vulnerable elders, but on the other hand, I also think there's some mechanism in there for maybe some extra support for that so that people are able to do the things...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Within that homecare and support services, and I see that there is long-term care and supported living, the Minister has said that there is training with the college. Within the department, is there staff looking at addressing the issue with the job descriptions where a lot of Aboriginal people who are taking Aurora College are finding they are hitting a barrier when they do not have the one year of experience as to entering after they have just finished taking the personal support worker and have been working in their practicum within these facilities? Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know I have raised it in the House, and I know we have health navigators who know where, if you need an application, you go here; if you need this, you go here; and you phone them and you know that. However, a lot of our elders and a lot of people who are coming into our hospitals from the small communities, Indigenous people, even within Yellowknife facility, that's a scary facility; even for somebody coming out of Inuvik, that's a scary facility. It's a big facility. You can get lost in there. That's more of a comment.

We keep talking about how, in order to bridge this...

Thank you. In my past work and knowing that some of this information about the people who are outside the NWT are a large number from my region, I have also found that the costs of these facilities have gone up significantly over a number of years, and I'm just wondering if that is accurate and if we can get a confirmation of an average of what we pay. I know there is a large amount of different -- people are living at different levels of care. I'm just wondering if there is a breakdown of what these levels of care are and the average cost that we pay per person out-of-territory annually, or...