Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge Dr. Nicole Redvers, naturopathic doctor. Nicole was born in Hay River, Northwest Territories, and raised in Fort Resolution and in Hay River. She graduated from Diamond Jenness Secondary School in 2000.
Ms. Redvers graduated from the University of Lethbridge where she completed a Bachelor of Science Degree with premedical requirements in 2004. She attended the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, Canada’s premier institute for education and research in naturopathic medicine, one of seven accredited schools in North America.
Currently she is a member in good standing with the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors as well as the College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia, where she is licensed.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to acknowledge the very great accomplishments of Dr. Nicole Redvers, naturopathic doctor. It’s so nice to see a homegrown talent like Dr. Redvers come home to the Northwest Territories to practice. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every year a grandmother, mother and sister or an auntie is nominated for the efforts and dedication as a role model and demonstrated wisdom amongst their community and people around them. This award is recognized as the Wise Women Award, which is distributed by the Status of Women Council. I am proud to acknowledge Ms. Allison Dejong from Tulita for her hard work and excellent performance as the wise woman for the Sahtu region.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, I raised the issue of the payroll tax on the request of a constituent. The payroll tax has been a thorn in the side of Northerners for a long time now. I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance what precipitated, what made the government think it would be a good idea to raise it from already what was bad enough at 1 percent to 2 percent. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member herself gave a fairly good history in her Member’s statement about the payroll tax, why it was implemented, why it was raised, as she ended her statement with the cry to axe the tax and get off the back of the people of the Northwest Territories. The Member did a very good job of that herself. Thank you.
Let me ask myself another question now.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, the payroll tax, the rationale for it was understood when it was put in place in 1993 in that we had a lot of people that were beginning to work in the Northwest Territories who did not reside here. I know the federal government doesn’t want to hear us say this because there’s supposed to be free access and mobility within Canada. They don’t want to hear us say that we did it to tax fly-in/fly-out workers, but that was the rationale for it. As I said, with the rebates that were in place at the time under our tax system it was somewhat bearable, but once it went to 2 percent and the tax credits did not affect the people in the higher income bracket it became burdensome and now with the costs of living... We talk about cost of living all this time in this House…
Do you have a question, Mrs. Groenewegen?
It’s coming, yes. Sorry. I’d like to ask the Minister, can we revert to the 1 percent tax and what would that cost this government. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we just this past Friday gave third reading and assent to the budget for this coming year so we are set, but as we plan for the end of this Assembly and we look at our transition items, I would suggest to the Member that that would possibly be an issue to consider and for inclusion in the transition document, recognizing that while people may find taxes burdensome, they are also the fuel that allows government to work and deliver the very many programs that people expect of it. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister suggests that this is something that could be noted in a transitional document to the 17th Assembly. Is this something that the Program Review Office could take a look at to see if there is some other source of this much revenue that we do not have to take from our residents? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I would be glad to put that issue on the table for our next meeting with the program review folks. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in my Member’s statement, once again I’m fighting with government to get a new school in Trout Lake. I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment when can we begin the planning process for inclusion into a capital plan for a school for Trout Lake. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Every year we go through this capital planning process and this year, again, we will be planning for next year’s capital project. Those types of discussion will be considered in due time. Mahsi.
I’m very pleased with the Minister’s answer that it will be considered. Every year I’ve been asking to put it in the capital plan, Mr. Speaker. I’d just like to ask the Minister again, will he recognize the needs of the students and the community of Trout Lake and put a new school for Trout Lake in the capital planning process or at least a plan to scope out a new school for Trout Lake, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much.
Mr. Speaker, those types of discussion need to take place from the community, the DEC we need to work with, and highlighting which are the priorities for the region and also the priorities for the Government of the Northwest Territories. We are providing capital project funding to include in the 2010-2011 capital plan that was initiated and that will cover the technical upgrades as identified so it can provide more teaching spaces. Those are just some of the programs, the funding that we’ve identified, but definitely this is a discussion that we need to have at the school board level.
Absolutely. I always believe that communication is key and as long as we’re talking, we can identify this priority for the community. Inuvik has a $100 million school, Tulita about a $60 million school, but I don’t think Trout Lake is asking for millions of dollars, Mr. Speaker. They’re looking at a small size, like the size of Jean Marie River. I’m sure it will be even under a million to create something like that for the community of Trout Lake and that’s what I’m asking the Minister to look at. Thank you very much.
Mr. Speaker, we have to look at all areas of the planning process. We are talking about 16 students in the community of Trout Lake; we have the capacity in the facility for 33 students. Those are the discussions that we need to have with the superintendents, the DECs. Mr. Speaker, capital planning will be up and coming before us and those are the discussions that we will definitely have. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister how can the community of Trout Lake be more helpful. Does he need petitions? Does he need letters from the chief and council even to come over and to meet with him directly as well there, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the committee of representatives at the DEC level, those types of discussions, concerns or ideas are brought forward at that level and those discussions are shared with me as the Minister responsible for Education through our chairs meeting. We talk about the priorities of the community and also the communities of the regions.
Mr. Speaker, this is an area that has been brought forward. We talked about the space inadequacy. Mr. Speaker, I will be visiting the Nahendeh area and I am looking forward to meeting the teachers and also the facility as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services in regard to improving the quality of health services to our seniors, and more importantly, providing them more independent service and also meeting their needs in regard to our aging population.
Mr. Speaker, my question is in regard to the situation we’re running into in Aklavik with the closure of the long-term care program at Joe Greenland. People are concerned about what’s going to happen to the elders that have moved out of there. What’s going to happen to the remaining elders in the community? There are some 39 elders over the age of 70. What is the Minister’s department doing to ensure the residents of Aklavik that the elders that are in the community will be taken care of and there are programs and services that are going to be offered? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to update the House that the transition in the elders program for Aklavik is going well. We have hired an extra home support worker who will begin on April 1st. We are in the process of going through the competition process for the third home care worker. This will triple the coverage of home care workers for elders in Aklavik. We plan on extending hours of home care support to include weekends and evenings. We will continue to deliver an elders day program out of Joe Greenland Centre.
Mr. Speaker, I can also advise you that there was a public meeting held with elders on February 22nd. Approximately 30 elders attended the meeting. They had a lot to tell us about what kinds of things they would like to happen; Meals on Wheels, they wanted more vehicle service. They like the fact that we are going to have more home care workers. We are working with the community to transition. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the concerns are more coming from the family members who have had residents in the Joe Greenland Centre who are now being asked to either move out or be taken care of in a home setting. Those individuals, the reason they were in the Joe Greenland Centre is because they need that specialized care. What are we doing in regards to the area such as respite care and ensuring that those people with disabilities, either visual disabilities or physical disabilities, are going to be taken care of in the community of Aklavik and ensuring that the health care side of this program will continue?
Mr. Speaker, we see that by changing the use of the Joe Greenland Centre we will be able to increase the assisted living space there in partnership with the Housing Corporation. We are going to be going from eight to 15 beds in that facility. We are aware that there are elders and persons with disabilities who are on a wait list to move into the Joe Greenland Centre. From the Department of Health and Social Services’ perspective, our expanded coverage of home care will be able to provide better service at the Joe Greenland Centre for the existing residents as well as the new residents that will move in there. Mr. Speaker, those who are in need of assistance will be able to get it at the Joe Greenland Centre. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in regards to any type of transition or change of a program, residents do have problems trying to adapt to it. Can the Minister give me some assurance that her department will continue to work closely with the family members in the communities, the elders in the communities and the community leadership to basically work through this transitional period and basically have an open dialogue and try to have as much openness as we can so that people are aware that this transition is happening but include them in the discussions that are taking place? Can I get that commitment from the Minister?
Mr. Speaker, absolutely. We are committed to working with elders and community leaders and the MLA to make sure that we work together and work well in this transition.
I am very happy to hear about the community meeting that they had where the elders were able to come out and have a discussion. They asked for access to more home care support workers. They would like to see Meals on Wheels. They talked about the possibility of either going to the Joe Greenland Centre to eat or have food brought to them. They were very interested in having recreational programs and other programs to bring the elders together that would also connect with the youth. We are very positive and we are very excited by hearing from elders about what sort of support they would like to have. We understand that the transition and change is always difficult. We will continue to communicate with the community. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I would like to thank the Minister and department. Again, I have to encourage her that we do have to go back to the public. I know we had a public meeting in Aklavik. We had over 100 people in attendance. Can we basically host another public meeting, say in mid-April, to ensure the transition has taken place smoothly and we basically continue the dialogue with our community with the Minister and myself? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I am open to continuing to have meetings. We are working with the staff that are affected with HR. We are working on recruiting and training the new staff so that we could have a transition. We will have a continued dialogue with the community. We want to continue to work with the elders and leadership of the community because we want this to work, and the only way it is going to work is to have support from the communities. Also, we continue to work with the two residents that are in the centre. We talked to the families and listened to their input about what they would like to see happen with their families. We are working together with the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. There have been a number of questions posed to the Minister over the past couple of weeks in regard to naturopathic medicine and the licensing of that practice in the Northwest Territories. I would like to continue on that vein, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to begin by asking the Minister -- she has been hard to get a commitment out of, but I am going to try again today to get a commitment out of her -- can the Minister provide Members of this House with any correspondence she sent back to inquiries she or her department has had regarding the licensing of naturopathic medicine in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had an inquiry about this issue. I have asked my staff to meet with people in question. The meeting was held. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wasn’t sure if I heard her say the meeting was held or wasn’t held, but would the Minister commit to sitting down face to face with her officials, the deputy minister, with the naturopathic doctors to move their concerns forward? Will she commit to that? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t have a problem meeting with anybody who wants to meet with me, but I want to assure the public and the Members here that we respond to inquiries that we get from the public and this specific issue in question, we have responded. I have asked staff to meet to explain what the rules are and what the government has in place in terms of the work that we are doing to regulate some of the professions. We have been open and communicating. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, what response is the Minister referring to, when it was sent and who it was sent to and when this meeting supposedly took place? I would like to ask the Minister those questions. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t know exactly what he is asking. Mr. Speaker, with respect to the naturopath issue, I received correspondence last fall. I asked the staff to meet with the person so that we could explain what the situation is with naturopath practice. Also, there was a concern that there might be a misuse of the word “doctor,” given that our Medical Profession Act states that it prohibits use of that word where there might be some misunderstanding that some people may be practicing medicine. I am just saying this because that is what the Medical Profession Act says.
There were meetings held in December. Our staff, the director of policy of the department met with the person in question to give them information. They had agreed to continue to communicate on this issue. Thank you.
