[English translation not provided.]
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to acknowledge and welcome to this House Mr. Sonny McDonald, a Fort Smither, long-time government employee, imminent northern artist, all around good guy, and he sits on the Mackenzie River Basin Board representing the Northwest Territories. Welcome to the Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to welcome a Frame Lake constituent, Ms. Lyda Fuller, executive director of the Yellowknife YWCA. I’d also like to recognize one of our city councillors, Ms. Lydia Bardak. She’s also the executive director of the John Howard Society. Thank you. Welcome to everyone who’s here.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to echo your comments to Ms. Boullard. Thank you very much for your service, and I recognize her attendance here today. As well, Ms. McLeod, best wishes in your new position. I’d also like to recognize Sonny MacDonald. Sonny is a well-known, skilled artist from Fort Smith and he’s been a huge contributor to the arts and craft industry here in the Northwest Territories. It’s an honour to have him here in the gallery today. I also wanted to recognize Lydia Bardak, Yellowknife city counsellor. I also see Arlene Hache, I’d like to recognize. As well, a constituent of mine, Emily Lawson. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize the residents of Weledeh including Therese Boullard, and thank her very much for her good work on the human rights office. Also, Lydia Bardak and Arlene Hache, both well-known and also doing good work on behalf of the NWT residents. Also, of course, Lyda Fuller, YWCA. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome Mr. Roland Rogers, the housing manager in the community of Aklavik to the gallery. Welcome.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Mr. Peter Huskey, who is here with us today. Welcome. He is from Behchoko and actively involved with the meetings that are occurring. I’d just like to welcome him here. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. I’d like to welcome all our visitors in the public gallery here today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings in the Legislative Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated in my Member’s statement today, I have a constituent who has an issue that should be of concern to all of us. My constituent is a very articulate person, and when we met with the public administrator and the CEO of the hospital, she was very clear on what it would take to make the washrooms at the hospital accessible and useable by someone in a wheelchair such as herself. I am sad to say that since that meeting six months has gone by. The hospital is operated by Health and Social Services, but Public Works and Services would be involved in any kind of a renovation. What was indicated as being required is a commercial base on a toilet that is raised up, that is higher off the ground, and instead of diagonally placed gripper handle, that they be on a horizontal so that you could put downward pressure on them in order to lift yourself. I know this is getting into detail here, but lift yourself up off of a higher toilet seat. That’s what she said she needed. That’s all we needed. Now we have a quote from Public Works and Services for $55,000, and there’s no money available to do this.
I would like to ask somebody’s permission, if the good, capable maintenance folks at the Hay River hospital could please go in and take the base off the floor, change it out for a commercial, higher toilet base and install those gripper handles with any kind of backing they may need to make them safe. Could I please have permission and instruction that this could be carried out? I guarantee you it’s a low ticket item. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Minister responsible for Public Works, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, Public Works and Services does not actually maintain this asset, but we were asked by the Department of Health and Social Services to give them some information and some expertise given that the department does do this type of thing. The problem is, obviously, for any upgrades in that bathroom to meet code, they have significant codes that they have to meet for safety and public safety. That’s why the cost has ballooned up to $45,000.
I hear what the Member’s saying. I clearly hear what the Member’s saying, and I’m happy to work with the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services and the authority, to see if there’s anything that we can do to minimize the cost so that we can actually put something in there, keeping in mind that that hospital is temporary – it’s going to be gone soon – but see if we can do something for the short term. Thank you.
Here is the insanity of the situation. If we’re going to put in something that works, it’s going to have to be up to code, which is going to cost, according to the latest quote from Public Works, $55,000. How can we have a facility that is up to code but not useable by a person with a disability that’s in a wheelchair? I mean, there’s no code standard with something that is unsafe and unusable for a person with a disability. Do I need to tell my constituent to go and file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission or something? I mean, it’s not acceptable that she cannot go to the Hay River hospital and use a washroom that is not unsafe to her, because although the washroom that’s there right now may be up to code, it is not safe or operable for her to use.
I don’t know what to say about code. I mean, it can’t be code right now. If I was building a commercial building right now, I would have to put a washroom in there that was accessible by people with disabilities and that would have to be up to code. I’d like to ask the Minister of Public Works, will he find out if it is possible to install gripper bars in the washroom and put a new toilet base in there which is raised up. Thank you.
Like I said, Public Works and Services will absolutely work with the department and the authority. I do understand that there is a barrier-free bathroom downstairs, which is completely accessible by elevator, so the person can get to an accessible bathroom on the downstairs floor, but as far as that bathroom, we will work with the Minister and the authority.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for Health and Social Services. I wanted to follow up on his Minister’s statement today.
I’m really pleased to hear that he will be later tabling the Mental Health Action Plan. It’s, I think, well known that our territory has many problems. We have people that suffer from mental health illnesses. We have people that suffer from mental health illnesses as a result of addictions. The Minister mentions in his statement that this is a three-year action plan. I believe it’s intended for 2012 to 2015. I appreciate that we have to start somewhere, but I’d like to ask the Minister what are we going to do beyond this three-year time period. What has the department got in place for long-term plans for a mental health and addictions strategy? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. We’ve had many discussions about mental health and addictions since I’ve become the Minister of Health and Social Services. This action plan has been in the works for quite some time. The plan right now, as a department, we’re seeing something with a shorter time frame that’s more of an action plan rather than a strategy is something that we need in order to start to move forward and try to make some progress in the mental health and addictions field. This doesn’t mean that we will stop working on mental health and addictions at the end of three years. It is hoped, and I can confirm that for sure, by continuing to work with the departments and provide the information to the Member, that there will be something beyond 2015 as well. Thank you.
I appreciate the answer from the Minister, but I have to say that I think it’s going to take a lot longer than three years to fix the problems that we have within the territory. I appreciate that this is intended to be an action plan. There probably are very valid actions within there and things that we do need to do, but I have to ask the Minister, if we have actions that we are doing over the next three years that are unrelated to medium-term and long-term goals, which apparently we don’t have, I wonder whether or not we are doing bits and pieces without any end goal in sight. Do we really know where we are going? Do we know how we want to get there? I appreciate that something is going to be developed, but are we waiting until 2015 to develop our midterm and our end long-term plan? Thank you.
No, we are going to start this action plan and then we are going to start using the business planning process to either renew this action plan or build on to this action plan. We’ll see how this goes. We’ll have a good lay of the land on what we have out there as far as mental health and addiction issues and then, from there, we will build on something that is longer term. We are not going to start at the end of this, but we will start during this action plan. We will start to develop that longer-term strategy. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I have to reiterate I find it difficult to understand how we can put specific actions in place without knowing what our end goal is, without knowing where we are going.
In some of the media information that was provided to Members, it indicates that the plans are developed to respond to service gaps. I would like to know from the Minister, does this plan identify service gaps. If that’s the case, how is this plan addressing the service gaps that we know exist in our territory? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it’s fairly obvious what the issues are in mental health and addictions from our perspective. We are trying to develop a plan that moves forward. There are gaps in the system. That’s what we need to address. This action plan, we’re trying to develop something that moves us forward, gives us a better view of what those gaps are, what those issues are, and then the whole base that through business planning process we will be able to fill those gaps and develop something on the longer term.
We do actually know where we are trying to go. We have a pretty good idea that we have addiction issues now. We’re trying to address those issues for the future so that we have a healthier Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate from the Minister that he knows where he wants to go. Maybe the department does, but I don’t see that written anywhere. That is a bit of my concern. I don’t know if this plan identifies where we want to go. To the service gaps, if they are identified in the plan, I would like to know from the Minister whether or not the gaps identified in the plan will be addressed by the actions that are going to happen over the next three years. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the gaps that are easy to fill can be identified and done within the next three years with this action plan. I’m sure that there will have to be more resources put in or resources moved around. That’s part of the issue; is right now we’re not sure if we need a lot more resources, because the whole nature of a plan like this is so that in the future we are avoiding a lot of costs, a lot of health costs, a lot of costs on treatment and so on, because if we go into prevention, in the future we don’t have to treat.
I think this plan is going to give us at least the ability to start to look at filling the smaller gaps and then going through a business plan process, if there needs to be resources put in or whether the resources are going to be requested or moved around internally. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Mr. Bromley.
I would like to follow up on my Member’s statement with questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and note that in the past I’ve described a situation where funding for the Yellowknife Dene Community Language Program is filtered through the Tlicho and Akaitcho governments, and there have been some issues coming from that, late transfers, late in the fiscal year and so on. The Minister of ECE, in correspondence to me in February, committed to exploring the possibility of improving the flow of funding in partnership with the Akaitcho Territory Government. What is the progress on this work recently, since February? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mr. Speaker, this funding through the committee that deals with the TLC, teaching and learning centres, we have come across some challenges when it comes to dealing with the funding with Detah and Ndilo. So we’ve looked as a department and how we can mitigate and resolve that issue. We did re-profile this particular funding for Detah and Ndilo as part of a proposal being submitted on an annual basis from Goyatiko to our department based on that dispersing of the funding. That is the establishment that should resolve that issue, because I understand Mary Rose Sundberg is the one coordinating this approach and we have met with her. This is a concern that was brought to our attention, as well, through the MLA. I think we found a solution of re-profiling the funding through our department based on proposal. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, thanks much to the Minister for those comments. It sounds like good progress happening there.
I have been very encouraged that the steps being taken to increase the number of interpreters/translators through the piloting of a new program and the announcing of first graduates of the Aurora College Aboriginal Language and Cultural Instructor Program. What are the plans for taking the interpreter/translator program forward now and beginning delivery and continuing programming now that the pilot is near completion? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Member is referring to the ALCIP program that we graduated students out of Inuvik and Aboriginal Language and Culture Instructors Program, but we are also delivering interpreter and translation training through the five different modules in the Deh Cho Yamozha Kue Society. We contribute on an annual basis for them to deliver the program. We are currently re-evaluating how we deliver that program through the Yamozha Kue Society because a lot of ideas and suggestions were brought forward. We are currently looking at and re-examining how we deliver that program in the Deh Cho riding through Yamozha Kue Society to provide a more effective delivery program. The ALCIP program has been very successful to date. We will continue to deliver that to regions as well. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister for those comments. It is something that I hadn’t grasped and I still could use a little more clarity on whether the interpreter/translator program is a stand-alone or is it a sort of a subset of the ALCIP program. Maybe I can get the Minister to help me understand that situation.
I understand that the interpreter program, whether it is a subset or part of ALCIP, was a pilot project. I think the Minister said they are evaluating it now and will decide. If that is the case, I would like his confirmation on that. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, based upon the completion of the interpreter training pilot delivery series, we are currently re-examining the deliverance of the program itself. Yes, the Member is correct. It was a pilot project that we initiated with the Yamozha Kue Society, and Aboriginal Language Culture Instructors Program is through the college. It is a two-year diploma program that is geared towards an area that they’ll be certified and qualified to start teaching in the classroom setting. These modules were just a pilot project, but currently we are examining that. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that clarification. I just want to note the Yellowknives Dene First Nation consider the Wiilideh language a separate language, and I had requested official language status and the Minister has been interacting with YKDFN from time to time. In his February correspondence to me, the Minister said a suggestion was made to the Akaitcho Government to carry out a research study on the Wiilideh language to document its unique nature. Now, this is going to involve hiring a linguist and an academician, but I’m wondering if the Minister can say what progress there’s been on his research and has his department provided resources for such a study. Mahsi.
Mahsi. There has been discussion with the Akaitcho Government, as well, on this, especially with the executive director identifying a feasibility study on the Weledeh dialect.
As you know, we have the nine Aboriginal official languages. Within that it also contains different dialects as well. So we have to be careful what we’re talking about here. Wiillideh dialect is part of the Tlicho dialect as well. So there’s different dialects that are involved; the Chipewyan dialect. So those are just some of the areas that the executive director was going to do some more research on in this area. But I can provide the latest update on what we have as a department from the Akaitcho Government, if they can provide that. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are also for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in regard to a report, I believe in the last Assembly, called the Health Talk Report. There was a recommendation made in terms of having a translator in each of the regional health authorities to assist our growing population of seniors who need medical attention and services, but whose first language is their official language and English is their second language. So they might have some difficulty with the terminology or getting the proper information for the best care that they need. Can the Minister of ECE give us an update in terms of has anything been worked with the departments to address this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Language is very important to all the departments, especially when it comes to terminology, interpreting different words. We are currently working with each department, such as the Department of Health and Social Services more specifically dealing with the regional health authorities. Stanton has hired on-call interpreters, as well, even translators. So each department has their own roles and responsibilities to hire their interpreters and we do what we can as a department to identify the needs.
At times we did receive requests from constituencies across the Northwest Territories. When there are no interpreters, for example at Stanton, then right away, immediately a request would go to Health to deal with that matter. So it’s a coordinated approach between the departments. So we’ll continue to monitor that and work closely with the Ministers. Mahsi.
