Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my line of questioning yesterday that we had for the Minister of Health and Social Services in what must have seemed like a mini theme day for Minister Abernethy, but when we talk about people leaving the Northwest Territories, the outward migration of residents of the North, we need to look at all aspects of that.
Yesterday I spoke about some of the challenges for seniors living in the North: the cost of living, the cost of living independently in their own homes. Today I’d like to talk about another segment of population who we often hear leave the Northwest Territories. Those are people who moved to the Northwest Territories who are not necessarily indigenous or from here who have aging parents in some other part of Canada.
I have talked to numerous people who had to not retire in the North because they needed to go back to where they were from in other jurisdictions in Canada to care for aging parents. So today I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, is there anything in legislation, regulation, policy within this government that would be a framework for an organization, an NGO, a church, some kind of an organization to set up private care for seniors in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy,
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s certainly an interesting idea and anybody who’s interested in coming north or currently in the North who’s interested in opening their own supported living facility would obviously be great. There are no impediments to a private corporation or business opening an old folks home or long-term care centre in the Northwest Territories, but any private corporation would obviously want to do some research in advance and find out what building codes or other things might need to be in pace for a multi-person dwelling, but as far as Health and Social Services, there are no restrictions for a privately run old folks home.
This idea of an NGO running a health-related institution is not a foreign concept. As everyone knows, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada had a management contract with the Government of the Northwest Territories for many, many years to run the hospital in Hay River. When you do go into southern jurisdictions, you do see many church organizations that have seniors complexes associated with them. You see hospitals still being run by, say, the Grey Nuns in Edmonton as an example, but when you turn on the news, you do hear of some tragic events around some of the care of seniors in other jurisdictions. You don’t hear of those things here, but you know that we hear that where there is a lack of guidance or guidelines or rules and regulations that sometimes that care is in obvious need of being more highly monitored.
Is the idea of putting in place some standards something that the Department of Health and Social Services would consider for such an institution? Thank you.
As I said, I would encourage anybody who is interested in starting this type of business here in the North to review the regulations that exist within their communities with respect to building and construction.
To the Member’s question, we do have the National Building Code of Canada, which requires that all facilities in the Northwest Territories that provide health care must comply with the National Building Code. We have the National Fire Code, the NWT Public Health Act and regulations, and just an important reminder that there are no regulations governing private long-term care centres in the North when they’re not receiving GNWT money. If they’re receiving GNWT money or looking for a partnership with the GNWT, the rules would not be the same. We would require specific criteria to be met.
I think we have a very lively and competent organization here in Yellowknife: Yellowknife Association of Citizens Concerned for Seniors. I’m not getting their name exactly right, but it’s YACCS, I believe. They have set up Aven Manor, Aven Cottages. They have set up a number of institutions for seniors in Yellowknife. They probably even attract people on a regional basis.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, does that society receive funding from this government?
Yes, Avens and YACCS do receive funding, and they are providing services on behalf of the GNWT. As a result, they are limited in what they can charge and they must apply the long-term care fee, which is basically monthly accommodation to cover meals and accommodation. Currently that rate is $752. That is something that anybody interested in starting a private business would have to consider, because that may not be a sustainable business plan if they took in GNWT residents and were expecting us to pay.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a topic that’s of great interest to me and I’ll try and make this short. Of course, I still have my eye on that H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital in Hay River that will soon not be required anymore. Well, I can’t ask a hypothetical question, but I would like to confirm that should an NGO be interested in acquiring that particular facility for extended care, the aging population in the North is a ballooning demographic. I don’t think that the government could possibly have enough money to accommodate all of the needs that are coming forward with seniors.
That facility, in the disposal process, would it be possible for an organization like Avens, but in Hay River, to set up a seniors complex in Hay River?
Setting aside that particular business, which has its own issues and will follow the normal disposal process, as I indicated previously, if there are private organizations who are looking at setting up facilities in the North, we obviously strongly encourage that, recognizing that if it becomes a GNWT-funded institution as far as we’re paying for the clients, that might change some of the requirements that are placed on them. If they’re completely private and encouraging people to come in and pay a fair market rent to be in those facilities, they would have certainly a lot more freedom.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
