Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish I could have more questions, but my last question would be: In the review, is there an analysis of what the cost savings are to have these births in the communities as opposed to having to travel and stay in communities such as Yellowknife or Edmonton or Grande Prairie for these families?
Although the review itself cost about $105,000, we do believe as a department, as do the other health and social services authorities, that there is a cost savings when a baby is born closer to home with a midwife. The exact savings I don’t have here but I can make that available to the Member without a problem. There is definitely a savings from having a hospital birth under a doctor’s care.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health. Why was the wellness worker position cut in Tsiigehtchic?
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must advise the Member that in the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority there is no regular CEO at this time. We have an acting CEO from Hay River, followed by another acting CEO out of Yellowknife. This was done by review. Unfortunately, we were hoping that the position would have been extended until the review was complete, but as the term of this particular position expired before the review was completed, the individual position was cut prior to review. A review is being done of all the positions in the Beaufort-Delta.
How does the cutting of this position fit with the priority of this government to promote healthy and independent lifestyles?
I don’t believe it does fit. It’s a very unfortunate circumstance. As we were reviewing all of the positions for the betterment of the smaller communities when the review was incomplete as of the date when this specific position’s term had expired, the term was allowed to expire and the review was not complete. The review is being done on the positions and the positions that should be in Tsiigehtchic for the betterment of the community will be put in place.
At this time I have no further questions.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It’s in reference to the leadership meeting that we had in January, again, where he did a presentation. There was a lot of really strong support for reinstating a board for the regional health and social services authority. I just want to get an update as the Minister had agreed to look into this matter. I’d like to get an update from the Minister on what’s been done – the Minister of Health and Social Services – since the discussions back on January 10th. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is aware, we have a public administrator in place for the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority. That’s not our desire. We would prefer to have a board; however, in consultation with the community, it was recommended that we fill the CEO position. At this time we have gone out for advertising to try to fill the CEO position. We want to fill the CEO position and then develop, again, and reappoint a board after we have a CEO position. Thank you.
With all due respect, in filling the CEO position there are a lot of people in the surrounding communities who just listened to the Member for the Mackenzie Delta and his issues that he has that need to be addressed, and I think they need to be addressed before a CEO is put into place, and that comes with a board. Can the Minister please provide me with a definite timeline as to when a board can be in place with the Beaufort-Delta Health Authority?
The Member is right; during our meetings of the Beaufort-Delta leadership and the Gwich’in, we had indicated that we were going to work on reappointing the board. I was not totally up to speed on why the board was removed initially, but there seemed to be a strong desire to have a board in place and the department will work with the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority to appoint a full board in the Beaufort-Delta as soon as possible. Thank you.
I would just like to recognize that I do understand that the Minister has quite the workload becoming the new Minister of Health and Social Services, and I do also like to recognize that I’ll take into consideration that as soon as possible means that as early as tomorrow starting up some conversations, even just sending out some…opening up discussions with our leaders in the Beaufort-Delta region that will affect what’s been going on in that region for the last little while.
No further questions.
A comment. The Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Member’s comments. I will talk to the deputy minister and we will do a call for boards before the end of the session. Thank you.
The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services when the people in my communities are asking for support and help in dealing with the drug and alcohol programs, can the Minister tell this House and the people in the Sahtu when can they expect to see such types of programs being implemented in my regions that will support my people’s wishes and that possibly could work for them instead of looking at buildings that other regions have. When can the Minister put something concrete in this House to support my people?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve given direction to the Department of Health and Social Services that we’re moving more into prevention. Prevention is a big part of addictions, mental health and addictions. We have already started moving in that direction. It’s the same resources that we have in other areas and we want to move them into programs that we think are successful. We want to fund the programs for a longer term and, hopefully, increase the amount of money we are putting towards the addictions in the communities right across the territory. Thank you.
The Minister said yesterday that the Nats'ejee K'eh treatment facility has about a 49 percent occupancy rate. Can the Minister look at that treatment program? I know the Deh Cho health services board operates that. Can he look at that as a way to increase the on-the-land treatment programs with the money that they’re not using in the other regions where the communities like Colville Lake say we want on-the-land treatment programs for the people? This is the people’s land and this is where they want to heal. Can the Minister look at that?
As I indicated earlier, we are looking at on-the-land treatment programs. We have recently reviewed Nats’ejee K’eh. I have recently been in contact with the chairman of the board, and in fact, he has written me a letter inviting me to a meeting to meet with the Nats’ejee K’eh board, and they have various items that they wish to talk about pertaining directly to treatment in that facility. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we look at on-the-land treatment programs, we look at it from an Aboriginal perspective through a holistic view, and that means looking at the whole four parts of the human being: the mental, the emotional, the physical and the spiritual. The Minister is on track on this process right here. I want to ask the Minister, has he looked at other types of programs that we’re talking about today that could be used as the model in the Northwest Territories, across Canada where people, Aboriginal people, all people can use this type of model for healing their addictions?
I’ve asked the department to look at best practices at that type of treatment. We recognize that most of the communities have a cultural area that the communities will frequent, and we want to look at those areas working with the communities. I think the communities understand that addictions are a huge issue. Certainly the health providers understand that addictions are a huge issue. We do want to look at treatment on the land and we want to look at the cultural aspect of it. All of the four aspects that the Member spoke of and their areas and everything and develop a program that would be very fitting for the communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Item 8, written questions. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you’ll bear with me, I’d like to read into the record the Standing Committee on Social Programs Committee Report 1-17(2), Report on the Use of Tablet Computers in the Legislative Assembly.
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures of the 16th Legislative Assembly tabled Committee Report 2-16(5), Report on the Use of Laptop Computers and Hand-held Electronic Devices in the Legislative Assembly, on May 19, 2010. This report provided a summary of the rules governing such devices in other jurisdictions and reviewed the Legislative Assembly’s actions and views to that date regarding the use of portable electronic devices by Members of the Assembly and committee staff in the performance of their duties. The report made the following recommendations:
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that Members be permitted to use laptop computers and other hand-held electronic devices only during Committee of the Whole proceedings;
And further, that laptop computers and other hand-held electronic communication devices are not to be used by a Member who has the floor;
And furthermore, that a Member who has the floor must have his or her laptop computer closed and/or his or her hand-held electronic device turned off.
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that any electronic device used in the Chamber must be on silent mode at all times.
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the use of laptop computers and hand-held electronic devices continue to be administered through the sole discretion of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the chair of Committee of the Whole and if the use of any electronic device is deemed to impinge on the decorum or dignity of the House, the offending Member may be ordered to discontinue use.
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the guidelines governing the use of laptop computers or hand-held electronic devices be set out in a document entitled “Direction Regarding the Use of Electronic Communication Devices in Committee” and that the document be attached as an appendix to the Rules of the Legislative Assembly.
All of these recommendations were adopted in the 16th Legislative Assembly by motion in Committee of the Whole: Motions 9-16(5), 10-16(5), 11-16(5) and 12-16(5), respectively.
While no formal guidelines on the use of laptop computers and hand-held electronic devices have as yet been attached to the Rules of the Legislative Assembly, Members have treated these recommendations as conventions to be observed in the Chamber. Formal guidelines will be included in the overall review of the rules now taking place.
Pursuant to Rule 85(5)(e), the Speaker, in a letter dated December 12, 2011, referred consideration of the impact of the use of tablet computers on the operations of the 17th Assembly to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures, in light of support received from Caucus for the use of tablets. The Speaker further referred correspondence from the Member for Frame Lake regarding the use of tablet computers in committee and the House.
The committee considered the matter at its meeting on January 18, 2012, and makes the following recommendation:
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that tablet computers or other similar electronic devices be considered as a type of laptop computer/hand-held device, subject to the existing conventions in the House regarding electronic communications devices.
Mr. Speaker, that concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures on the Use of Tablet Computers in the Legislative Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Mr. Bromley.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) to have Committee Report 1-17(2), Report of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures on the Use of Tablet Computers in the Legislative Assembly, moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member is seeking unanimous consent to move Committee Report 1-17(2) into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document, entitled “What We Heard from Northerners about Poverty.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table two documents. The first document is entitled “2011 Annual Report of the Public Utilities Board of the Northwest Territories” and the second document is entitled “Northwest Territories Law Foundation Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2011.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table the newspaper clipping from the Northern Journal dated January 31, 2012. The article is “Matrix Program Fights Addiction.” It is a great story about the things that are happening in Fort Smith, Fort Simpson and Fort Providence about working on and combatting drug and alcohol addictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
