Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final supplementary, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister meet with the community of Tsiigehtchic to create a long-term plan and implement the plan?
I’ve already committed to go to the community and meet with the leadership. I’ve also indicated that the commanding officer of “G” Division and RCMP from Fort McPherson are absolutely willing to go and work with the community. So I guess again the answer is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to the issue that was raised by my colleague and myself from Hay River, I would like to ask my questions to the Minister of Public Works and Services. Knowing that Hay River is going to be in need of long-term care beds, I would like to ask the Minister if the existing hospital could be considered as one of the options for a long-term care facility for Hay River. It is strategically located on a beautiful green space. The rooms in acute care and extended care are very large. There are ample developed home-like common areas. There’s a very expensive and large kitchen and cafeteria there for residents that would need to take their meals there. There’s lots of parking. There’s a very well-located security desk that would allow you to see everybody coming and going. It would just seem that if this building could be re-profiled as a long-term care facility, it’s worth looking into and I’d like to ask the Minister if his department would undertake a technical review of the building.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Glen Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As with all assets that belong to a department, once the Department of Health and Social Services vacates it, it will become the responsibility of Public Works and Services, who will do a technical assessment on the building to figure out if there is any future for that building and whether it can actually be used for other purposes, then it would enter the normal process for disposal which may include, or could include, re-profiling. We would have to do a technical assessment on the building, figure out what it is, factor in deferred maintenance, costs of operating, all those types of costs. Through the normal disposal process, that will be done.
That is not the answer I was hoping for. There is no place for these folks to go if they vacate the building. We can’t wait until after the building is vacated and then start doing an assessment of whether or not it could be used as a long-term care facility. There are no other 10 long-term care beds in Hay River and we certainly don’t want to be shipping our people out of Hay River to other communities. We know that the years pass quickly in this place and the new facility will be open, it will be upon us. If we’re going to look at this as an option, this assessment would need to start to take place now. I would like to ask the Minister what it would take to get that ruling, a request from the Department of Health and Social Services. What would it take?
A request from Health and Social Services wouldn’t hurt.
So if the Department of Health and Social Services wanted to consider this facility as an option – I say an option because I don’t want to pre-empt other options but I just know how capital dollars work around here, I know how tight they can be. If the Department of Health and Social Services made a request, Public Works and Services would begin to look at the structure, the utility of this building as a long-term care facility, and prepare a report as soon as possible.
An analysis of this magnitude would actually cost some money so we would have to actually look for some money as well, which means we may have to come back to the House seeking some dollars to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not one that’s normally in favour of a lot of studies and reviews, but in this case, I would support that.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Comment. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’ve long stood up here and debated with the Minister of Education about the need for a new school for Trout Lake. I think our last discussion in this House was last October. I would like to ask what the Minister has done to advance the Trout Lake new school replacement project since then.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Trout Lake school, Charles Tetcho School, has a capacity of 20 students at this point. It does have up to 33 students that we have a capacity for at that size. Right now it’s at 61 percent for 2011-2012 enrolment figures. Based on that, from the information I have there’s not much need for additional space requirement. However, I have committed to the Member and will be visiting his constituency, and I want to look at the actual facility itself and discuss further how we can move that along expeditiously. As the Member indicated, 2018 is far away, but that’s an area we continue to work with with the MLAs during the capital planning process. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I’ve also long made the case that that is not a school in Trout Lake. The old one had burned down. The school is being housed in the community centre right now, and our government has committed to replace that school, and that’s what I’m asking the Minister today.
So I’d like to ask the Minister, given that, when will this government replace that school in Trout Lake.
Again, it’s based on the capacity of the students in the schools for the Northwest Territories. We deal with 49 schools and the Charles Tetcho School was constructed in 1993, so it is almost 20 years now and that’s an area that we need to re-evaluate, the number of students in a school and also the population in a community.
Again, I will be visiting the community and looking at the school, and we can discuss further what the next steps should be. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
I’m trying to point out to the Minister that, for example, if a school had burned down in Yellowknife and they put them in the community hall, how long would it take them to replace that school.
So I’d like to ask the Minister once again, when will that school be replaced for a new stand-alone school in Trout Lake. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, currently we have the school in Trout Lake. We have students learning in Trout Lake; 20 students that are registered in school. We do have a facility. It may not be a fancy facility, but this is an area that we are closely monitoring. At the same time, this is an area that I’ve been pushing my department, especially for small schools, how we can expedite this process.
When it comes to capital infrastructure, every year we go through that. We push through various schools to be included in the capital planning process. Unfortunately, there are other pressing needs, other pressing issues that come forward as a priority.
So with this particular school, we’ll continue to push that forward. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s time for small schools in small communities and enough of building big schools in big communities. I’ll take up the Minister’s offer to come to my riding, and I certainly look forward to meeting with the leadership of Trout Lake and to show him the exact needs. The community actually disputes the numbers that he’s using. They’re actually saying that there are about 25 students already and growing yearly.
I’d like to ask the Minister, will he commit to start the work to do a planning study for the community of Trout Lake for a new school. Thank you.
Those are the discussions that we need to have within my department and with the school board as well. What it comes down to is the needs of the community, the number of students.
I did commit to the Member that I will be visiting the community, and highlighting the Trout Lake School and how we can take that matter forward. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. In my statement earlier today, I know the 17th Assembly Caucus clearly stated an emphasis on strong individuals, families and communities, and developing a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable Economic Development Strategy.
We know there are big challenges to achieve this and that expertise in all these areas is, obviously, required. How did the Minister set out to ensure the Economic Development Strategy meets the social and environment Caucus priorities, when the discussion paper itself is a sponsorship of business only, and no environmental or social expertise appears to be included? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Economic Opportunities Strategy focuses on growing the economy here in the Northwest Territories. At the same time, we have a parallel process with the Anti-Poverty Strategy that the government has initiated as well.
Our belief is that we can find a way forward with the economy and focus on economic opportunities in the various regions around the Northwest Territories, and that’s what this strategy is set up to do. Thank you.
The strategy discussion paper lists the reference materials that will be the basis of analysis; that’s industry profiles, regional economic profiles and a literature review of economic strategies. But where’s the social analysis and the environmental studies such as the need to control growth in greenhouse gasses, building a carbon-neutral economy?
Does the Minister really believe that the socially responsible and environmentally sustainable aspects of an Economic Development Strategy can happen without specific and thoughtful preparation and design in that work? Mahsi.
We have a number of folks involved in the Economic Opportunities Strategy, including the Northern Aboriginal Business Association, the NWT Chamber of Commerce, the NWT Association of Communities. We have an expert panel that’s set up, as well as the department. We’re not setting out to conduct this Economic Opportunities Strategy without talking to people. We’ve been out to a number of communities already. We’re looking for feedback from residents around the Northwest Territories.
I know the Member mentioned big business in his opening statement. This isn’t all about big business, Mr. Speaker, it’s about opportunities, especially in the smaller communities, if you look at the commercial fishing, agriculture, tourism, the traditional economy, as well, with trapping. We have to turn over every stone when it comes to finding opportunities out in the regions, and we have to find out what those obstacles are to get economic development happening in some of our small communities. Mr. Speaker, this is our effort to do that. Thank you.
Thanks for the Minister’s comments. I don’t disagree with much of that, but a quick look at the parameters of the discussion, the strengths will be examined. That’s mines, forests, airports, and connections and the like. No people there. The weaknesses are studied. That’s regulatory processes, roads, access to land. No human capacity there either. There are opportunities; for example, interest from foreign investors and, finally, threats…(inaudible)…threats to the business environment.
Again, where’s the environment, where are the people and where are the cost priorities? Mahsi.
The North has always been criticized for having too much red tape, government’s getting in the way of business. We believe that the regulatory regime that is in place is going to protect the environment. This is a stand-alone strategy. It focuses on growing the economy here in the Northwest Territories and we should let it do just that. Focus on economic development here in the NWT. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister seems to think that the environmentally sustainable aspects and social responsibility can just happen without being designed. I say that’s baloney. Ploughing forward with blinders on is not going to serve us. That’s an old method that’s been disproven. We need a comprehensive holistic approach here.
So I ask, how will the Minister move to correct these oversights, and if he doesn’t, why bother spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on this exercise when we’re coming up with more of the same? Mahsi.
I appreciate the Member’s concerns; however, I don’t share those concerns. I believe we can move forward with an Economic Opportunities Strategy that’s going to benefit every region across the Northwest Territories and find new ways for us to grow the economy, especially in the smaller communities, and that’s what we’re going to start out to do. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, we are having concerns in Hay River about the new health centre and what’s not going into it. I have questioned the Minister on this in the past, about the 10 long-term beds. Can I get an answer from the Minister of Health and Social Services on what he has done since the beginning, what he and the department have done for a solution for the 10 long-term beds in Hay River?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The very first process to adding long-term care beds to Hay River would be to go through the capital planning process. I’ve had discussions with the executive and the Department of Health and Social Services about initiating the initial discussions that are needed at the senior bureaucratic level to talk about adding this project to the capital plan for the GNWT. Thank you.
I have a question on the Minister’s answer. I’m wondering if the Minister has indicated to the executive that this is a priority, this is something that we feel that Hay River has been left out of the process somewhere along the line. They designed a new health centre and excluded the 10 long-term beds that are currently in the hospital.
Has the department and himself stressed the fact that there is some shortage that is going to be happening very soon once the new facility is open?
Mr. Speaker, the department is aware that the long-term care right across the Territories is a priority. We are doing various things like trying to get the current long-term care beds up to full staffing. Also, we are adding long-term care beds within the overall system.
Long-term care is a territorial program, so even though long-term care exists in Hay River, there are other long-term care beds where we are expanding. Yes, we are doing what we can to make sure that the department does understand that long-term care is a priority. Thank you.
I respect the Minister’s answer and I understand the long-term beds solution throughout the North, but we are dealing with Hay River, one of the largest centres in the Northwest Territories. I am hoping the Minister’s statement doesn’t mean that he’s looking at putting Hay River residents elsewhere.
Is there a commitment from the department? I know the Minister of Health has indicated, in a public speech, that they are looking at solutions in Hay River for those 10 long-term beds.
Mr. Speaker, the plan is not to move people that are from Hay River that require long-term care into long-term care beds outside of Hay River. All the long-term care needs in Hay River will be addressed within Hay River. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my statement, I am just a little bit bewildered that we’re making a 50-year plan without some of these answers already being made.
My question is to the Minister of Health. Has the existing hospital, the old hospital, been part of their assessment for keeping the long-term care beds in Hay River? Have they included that in their assessment?
Mr. Speaker, no, we had not assessed H.H. Williams as a long-term care only facility. We had assumed that when the new health care was built, all of the services would leave the Hay River current H.H. Williams Hospital. Thank you.
