The Minister mentioned earlier with going on with my other colleague asking question with the ALCIP program and the other program I believe in the Deh Cho, with the five modules. Would any of those programs be able to address the issues needed within our government system, such as Justice, Education or Health, in terms of terminology and getting the information to residents of the Northwest Territories where English is their second language? Do either of these programs address that concern and that issue? Thank you.
Mahsi. The Yamozha Kue Society out of Hay River delivers pilot projects on five modules and it is a basic, entry-level language. So it does capture, to some degree, on some of the interpretation, whether it be in a hospital setting. It is a basic level, but we are, as I stated, re-examining that area where if we can provide more effective and efficient course delivery that would capture and identify the terminology that’s used in hospital and school settings and so forth. So, yes, to some degree it does capture that, but it’s just very basic language that they’re being taught as part of the pilot project. Mahsi.
Can the Minister provide us with details on how many individuals did participate in that program that he mentioned out of Hay River, and if he’s looking at putting it into an advanced course and offering it to languages right throughout the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Mahsi. Yes, I did commit to re-evaluating that particular program as part of the Yamozha Kue Society and considering delivering that same or advanced-level courses into the Aboriginal language groups, into the communities. So that is our overall goal, is to capture the regions to the best of our ability as we were doing with the ALCIP program. So we’ll continue to address those needs. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regard to our growing seniors population which will result in more visits to the hospital, as well as the new crime bill coming through, we’re going to see more cases before the court system. Would the Minister commit to increasing some kind of funding pot for local interpreters who might be readily available? Would he be looking at creating some type of program where our local regional people can get some jobs in helping our elders, as well as those in the justice system with this type of thing to expect in the future? Thank you.
Mahsi. When I talked about re-examining our delivery program, that would definitely capture that. I need to work with the departmental perspective, as well, the respective Ministers, how we can best deliver those programs and courses and work closely with the college as well. Aurora College has been successful in the past and now we’re re-examining that area as well. So, yes, that would be part of the discussion as we move forward. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today will be for the Minister of Health and Social Services. A couple of months ago the issue of the Edmonton city airport closure and how it affected our medevac flights was brought into the House and discussed here by some of the Members, and we did get some solid responses back from the Minister of Health. Most recently, updates to the Edmonton city urban site, or website, and I quote, “The city will continue to offer land at the City Centre Airport for use of Alberta Health Services to support helipads for medevac services.” It goes on to say there will be major development and redevelopment in the future, but it does not talk about fixed-wing development. Can the Minister, as he was promising back then, give us an update as to what’s happening right now in the city of Edmonton with medevac services?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our deputy minister has been meeting with the Alberta Health and Wellness people and they last met in April of this past year. They had indicated that they had promised that they would provide us with some continual updates as things change at the Municipal Airport as they go for closing the Municipal Airport. Recently the DM has asked if she could participate in the Transition Advisory Committee at Alberta Health and Wellness, but we have not received a response on that yet. Thank you.
It’s promising to hear that we’ve got some steps in place. I heard the word “transition,” which is good to hear. In our previous discussions, there was talk about the Edmonton/Villeneuve or Edmonton Garrison Airport as potential alternative destination for medevac flights from the Northwest Territories, including northern Alberta and northern BC. Has the Minister made strides in this area to see if that could be secured earlier, while we’re waiting for Edmonton to come up with a battle plan?
I’m not aware of any discussions with the Garrison Airport since the time that was brought up. I had recently met with the retired nurses from Alberta and the NWT; they were not aware of that as well. We spoke a bit about that. So I could get some updated information on the Garrison Airport and provide that information to the Member.
Thank you to the Minister. Recent public consultation workshops have ended here in Edmonton and they have claimed that by November of this year, November 2012, they are going to have what is called a Redevelopment Master Plan. As I said, in the website, they’re talking about still maintaining helipads for emergency services but did not talk anything about fixed wings. Can the Minister indicate if there is some type of master plan where emergency services are still going to be offered with heli services, and will there be some changes potentially in how our patients will be delivered in the downtown corridor of Edmonton?
At this time their plan is to move our medevacs to the international airport. At this time there is no plan to continue to keep a strip open at the Municipal Airport. However, like I have indicated, our deputy minister is continuing to have discussions to see if that is a possibility. They are currently using some flights that are going to the international airport as a backup for the Municipal Airport, and it’s been working fine. So far it seems like individuals have a fear that the international airport is a long way out. I think it’s about 45 minutes, and that could mean a matter of life or death. We’re continuing to talk with Alberta Health and Wellness, who are dealing with the City of Edmonton.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I couldn’t agree more. I think people are gravely concerned with the distance of the Edmonton International Airport, and trying to get loved ones and people who need medevac services as quick as possible to the hospitals. I think that’s the big question here. I’m hearing about, we’re part of a Transition Advisory Committee, but it seems that we’re working on the mercy of Edmonton and Alberta Health and Wellness. Does this government, does this department have a transition plan? Are we using alternative sites? Are we using alternative hospitals, Grande Prairie, other areas of that nature, to come up with a plan in the event something does not work out for the benefit of the Northwest Territories? Do we have a plan? Because I haven’t heard one yet.
As I indicated, the DM has asked to sit on the Transition Advisory Committee. What I can do is go back to the deputy minister to see if we have worked out some sort of plan with the City of Edmonton or Alberta Health and Wellness, to see if there is a plan that will support our medevacs, to see if there is an alternative closer to the uptown, such as Garrison or that some emergency may be kept open. I can have that information for the Member before the end of session.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My follow-up questions are directed to the Minister responsible for seniors. [English translation not provided.]
I wanted to ask the Minister what kind of current programs and services are available from the GNWT in the interest and care of elders.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Minister responsible for seniors, Mr. Tom Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know recently that a seniors handbook was published which lays out the programs from the various departments. For Health and Social Services, we are offering things in the health area. We offer home care for independent living, long-term care for elders and seniors that need it, and also for other health programs and extended health benefits which provide prescription drugs, medical travel, medical supplies, appliances, prostheses, hearing aids, dental services and eye glasses.
I wanted to thank the Minister for the general response. Currently the elders population is fairly low with the number of elders over the age of 65, but with the current estimates, I believe within 10 years those figures will dramatically change and we’ll have an increased population of elders. How is the government preparing to try and meet the needs of elders at that age? How is this government preparing for that eventuality?
As is across the country, the NWT recognizes that the seniors population will be growing quickly, and it’s been an issue, I think, for at least 25 years when they started to do the projections and recognizing that. For the Department of Health and Social Services, we have some senior citizens consultants to consult about what type of rehabilitation services are going to be needed, the extent of what type of services will be needed within the department. Aside from that we are funding the NWT Seniors’ Society. We give them now close to $200,000 a year for them to work with the Seniors’ Society on a Seniors Advisory Council and the Community Outreach Program, so that they can try to keep their membership advised of what is up and coming.
I’d like to thank the Minister for pointing out that there is at least an engagement with elders of the Seniors’ Society, in terms of trying to prepare for the eventuality that indeed we will have more elders perhaps within the next 10 or 20 years in terms of population, my next question is in regard to the federal government’s recent discussion of raising the retirement from 65 to 67. What’s the position of the GNWT on that?
We haven’t engaged the federal government in this area at this time because this is still going through the budget process. As soon as the budget process is through, I think we would be… As the Minister responsible for Seniors, I know that we are having an FPT meeting and I’m sure that will be one of the topics coming up. If not, I could ensure the Member that I will engage the other federal Minister responsible for Seniors to see how that is going to impact the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about the section of Highway No. 1 that goes up to Wrigley. Residents of Wrigley have always brought it to my attention that the maintenance cycle is not what they think it should be. I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation what level of attention they pay to this section of the road. Residents often say that they do not maintain it as often as regular, and they do not pay too much attention to that road. I’d like to ask that to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. David Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d be more than happy to look into the intervals on maintenance on that section of highway in comparison to other sections. It does have, and I do know this, something to do with the amount of traffic that is on the road, but I will get the information for the Member and then we can do a comparison. If there are issues with maintenance, the Member and the communities can certainly bring that to my attention and we will address that.
I’m glad the Minister offered some kind of mechanism, because that is truly needed. They often bring their complaints either to the ferry operations at Ndulee and/or call the regional office. Often they don’t get adequate responses that they feel they should. If the Minister is offering a route that the community or community leadership can contact his office directly, I’d be pleased to hear about it.
Safety is our number one priority, so again, if the Member feels there are maintenance issues on that section of highway and he wants to bring that to my attention, I would be more than happy to look into those concerns for the Member and for the community.
I guess the key thing is the maintenance cycles. It seems that the department often skips it because of the lower volume of traffic. I don’t think this is right, because this highway is on the national highway system and it shouldn’t be dismissed just because there’s a lower amount of traffic. It’s equally important to that community and for the whole North as well.
The Member brings up a good point and we’ll take that into consideration.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. If the Minister can also provide to me the amount of the operations budget that is going towards that section and a bit of a plan for maintenance for this coming summer and fall.
I’ve got the information pertaining to capital upgrades on that highway, and there is some money that we’ve got going forward. On the detail on the maintenance side of things, I will endeavour to get that level of detail for the Member.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some time ago the Minister of ITI made a ministerial statement on the oil and gas potential activities in the Northwest Territories. In his statement he said that the industry experts believe that there’s a potential of one or two billion barrels in the area just waiting to be tapped in the Tulita district.
I want to ask the Minister, because of the renewed interest in oil and gas exploration and development in the Sahtu region, and as the Minister also noted in his ministerial statement of infrastructure in Transportation, I want to ask the Minister in his statement what it means in terms of is the Minister looking at putting some roads into the Sahtu that would support extracting the resources of one or two billion barrels of oil, as he stated in his statement.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. David Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is well aware, building roads in the Northwest Territories is an expensive endeavour. With the resource development in the central Mackenzie and the Sahtu, I certainly believe there is opportunity, as we go forward, to develop transportation infrastructure, and that would include all-weather roads, by working with industry and also with our partner in Ottawa. I believe those discussions will take place as that resource is proven up and that resource continues to move forward. There are going to be a lot of opportunities in that area.
In the Ministerial statement, certainly he talks about the activities happening all in the Northwest Territories, and certainly, he mentioned some of the things about Ottawa and partnerships. He is correct; it is costly to build infrastructure. I mean, we already had this known to us on the Deh Cho Bridge. We also know this from the Inuvik-Tuk road. We also know that those are great lessons for us to continue moving, but, hopefully, this does not stop us from putting in some major infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. I want to ask the Minister, will he meet with the oil and gas companies and corporations that are working in the Sahtu, and also have an opportunity to meet with his federal counterpart, the Minister of Transportation in Ottawa, to look at if there could be a partnership that could build a road from Norman Wells south.
I’ve taken every opportunity to meet with industry. I’ve also met with the federal Minister of Transportation. Certainly, this is high on our list. We’re not going to do this alone. Any opportunity and every opportunity that comes our way, I think we need to take full advantage of it. We will get somewhere by working together with industry and with the federal government. That’s how I intend to move forward with this. At the earliest opportunity, I will try to get together with the Sahtu Explorers Group and start to outline some ways that we can work together collectively on the advancement of all-weather roads in the Sahtu. Thank you.
I noted also in the Minister’s statement about the airports, how Norman Wells and Tulita have been very busy with the activity of the last year’s winter program. Now we are just getting some indication that Husky will probably ramp up their oil and gas exploration to almost a year-round type of activity. They’re also talking about some roads that they want to build in the Sahtu. Would the Minister, sometime in the next three or four months, start to let the industry know, for example, the Explorer Group that’s formed in the Sahtu region, to look at the concept of partnership in terms of building transportation such as roads and ramping up some of the infrastructure around the airports?
As early as mid-July, I hope to be in Norman Wells and have the opportunity to meet with Husky while they’re there. Certainly, in August when we are in Calgary meeting with industry, with the EDI committee, that’s when I would hope to have some more opportunity to discuss those types of opportunities with industry while we’re in Calgary, and that would happen in August.
To the Member’s question, yes, any opportunity we get to talk to industry on the advancement of transportation infrastructure in the Sahtu, we will take every opportunity. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
