Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, this is the Minister who thought 10 per cent was reasonable when we were talking about leases. Now, we have it down to 5 per cent, which is a little bit more reasonable.

When we talk about the Deh Cho, Lands Department has Fort Providence and Kakisa being serviced out of, guess what, South Slave -- the Fort Smith office. Will the Minister look at this and quit worrying about the position in Fort Smith, but help the residents of the Northwest Territories, i.e., Fort Providence, and they're really close to Enterprise, and put the position where it needs to be, in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today, I spoke about some of the things that the community of Fort Simpson has done to address the tragedies that have occurred in the past year. I have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services to hopefully clear up some stuff. Can the Minister tell us what the department has been able to do in response to the number of tragedies in the Deh Cho region in 2017? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks, colleagues. As I said, LKFN will be operating a four-plex housing unit that will be housing four people who have been homeless for 180 days in the past year. The program is called Pathways to Housing, and it is a solid beginning to solve our homeless issue. The project will be fully under way by April 1st.

I would like to thank the various departments that help with these projects; Municipal and Community Affairs, Education, Culture and Employment, Health and Social Services, Housing, and Environment and Natural Resources. If I missed any other departments, I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I think it's a very positive step. How will the youth from the smaller communities be able to address their concerns? How are we going to be able to address that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that answer. In this House today and during the budget, we have heard about the Departments of Health and Social Services and Education, Culture and Employment are partnered together to create this new position called Child and Youth Career Counselling. Where are these positions going to be located during the school year and non-school year?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I greatly appreciate the Minister's ability to provide that information here to the House as we can share it with our residents. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister provide a brief summary of some of the things the department has been able to do in regard to the suicide prevention treatment and after-care as part of the mental health and addiction recovery in NWT Strategic Framework 2016-2021? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister and his department for the work that they were doing. Thanks for that information. As I said in my Member's statement today, there were a lot of departments that have been part of the support network. Can the Minister advise how the department has been working with other departments and organizations to ensure that everybody is aware of each other's services, including the mental health and addiction staff, Child and Family Services staff, Victims Services staff, and Education, Culture and Employment staff?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize my youngest grandson, Ezra James Whelly, first time in the Legislative Assembly, with his mother Jaqueline Whelly, and her father-in-law, Sean Whelly, who is a Council Member for the Village of Fort Simpson. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in May and June of 2017, a series of meetings were held to solidify feedback from age groups in Fort Simpson regarding community wellness. Information was gathered, compiled, and a community wellness plan was completed in July 2017 that addressed some of the concerns of the community Members. They were:

bullying and cyber bullying;

not enough activities for youth and families offered;

unresolved grief and trauma associated with residential schools;

not enough mental health services and counsellors available in the community, and information about these...

I think I may have given the wrong question here, and I will have to clarify it. I know there are three positions that are going into Fort Liard, Fort Providence, and Fort Simpson. Are they going to be in the schools year-round, or are they just in the schools during the school year, or is there going to be combination of these positions being placed?