Debates of May 30, 2005 (day 4)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. In the last few days the issue of the government’s decision to move the Territorial Treatment Centre from Yellowknife has captured a lot of attention and certainly a lot of it is centred on Members of this Assembly and where we’re going with this very sudden decision by the government to relocate something that has a very significant part of this community’s and this region’s service to children with severe behavioural disabilities.

Madam Speaker, on Friday I was comforted to hear the Minister of Health and Social Services tell us in relation to a discussion about dialysis services in Nahendeh that it makes far more sense to have services as close to the people it serves as possible. This is something that I am certainly learning a lot more about in relation to this particular issue.

Madam Speaker, I’ve heard from the YWCA here in Yellowknife that the loss of this service here in the city, of course, is going to potentially mean that some of the staff involved in delivering care for the young people at the Territorial Treatment Centre will also be lost to other related programs in the city. For instance, there are three at the YWCA: Project Child Recovery for children who witness violence in the home, a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program, and a Support for Adults with Disabilities. All have staff who are very much involved in the delivery of service at the Territorial Treatment Centre.

My growing concern here, Madam Speaker, as I am learning more about the significance of this service, is that the government has made this decision without fully developing the plan, the consequences for it and how our region and our community are going to cope with this through the transition of this service to Hay River. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

---Applause