Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, throughout my term as an MLA for Nahendeh, we've heard about this great project at Colville Lake, with the solar there. I have some questions for the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation in regards to the project in Colville Lake: who was involved to help fund this pilot project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I regret to inform the House that early Sunday morning on November 19th in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Doris MacPherson passed away after a long battle with her sickness. Her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson were by her bedside as she passed away in her sleep.

Doris was born on September 30, 1946, to Lucy and George MacPherson in Fort Simpson.

Doris enjoyed her life to the fullest and always had a smile and a good word for everybody that she met.

Doris adored her two children, Darrel and Nikki, and her grandson Brandon. When she came home, she made time with...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, I would like to congratulate the Department and Health and Social Services for working towards the new child and youth mental health workers. I think it is very important. In my riding, it has been a huge concern. Just in the past year, we have had a number of sad incidents and some tragic ones. I have got to thank the departments for working together for that, and I know, from talking with the people in my riding, they are very supportive of this direction of people working together on that.

I would also like to thank the department for continuing to expand...

I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess I'm going to have to, kind of, go with that question here: how do they communicate that with the local housing authority? Is it through email? Is it through telephone? How do they communicate that information?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as most people, Members, we end up with issues that are related to people's issues with the Power Corporation and that, or Housing Corporation and, you know, arrears and that. So my questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. Mr. Speaker, what policy or procedures does the corporation follow when they have overdue accounts? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to try to be brief on mine here. I have a number of comments that I would like to make.

I guess my first one: I would like to applaud the Executive for putting the $250,000 to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Council of Friendship Centres. I think that is a good investment. What my big thing is, is I would like to see it annually. I think that this organization does some really good work, and we should be doing it annually. It should not be just a onetime offshoot, so I am hoping that the department can look at that. I think that is a good investment for...

Thank you, and I thank the Minister for that, and I apologize. It just jumped into my head there, and I appreciate the direct response from the Minister and the commitment. I'm hoping they actually reach out by phone call instead of just by mail. So my last question to the Minister is: does the corporation have a policy that they follow to disconnect the power for good, and what is the threshold for this decisionmaking? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, we have a number of individuals who live in public housing, and so they have to pay their bills accordingly and that. Can the Minister please advise, if a person lives in public housing, does the Power Corporation reach out to the local housing authority and advise them of the situation? In other words, if the power is going to be cut or restricted?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I regret to inform you that Sarah Jane McLeod passed away on October 12, 2017. Sara Jane Isaiah was known as well as Sally. She was born on September 27, 1933, in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, to Eva Isaiah and Foster Browning.

Sally grew up in Aklavik as a ward of the church. She attended school there. As an adult, she returned to Fort Simpson, where she did odd jobs around the community before moving to Edmonton to work at the Charles Campsell Hospital. Later on, she returned to the North to work as a domestic worker for the family who ran the Forestry...

I thank the Minister for that great answer. It does help us understand better as we move forward. I guess I should have phrased it "for all people" and not just going out for treatment to the facilities. I thank the Minister for the clarification. Mr. Speaker, what is the department doing to help residents who return home from treatment with their after-care? Because it seems to me, when we talk about that, what are we doing? That seems to be a big issue.