Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Supplementary To Question 3-15(5): Relocation Of The Territorial Treatment Centre
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, good sense and good judgment would have lead the Minister back to the FAM directive that instructs Cabinet to inform and consult with the Members on this side of the House on substantial changes to projects. This didn’t happen and, like I mentioned in my Member’s statement, it’s the second time in less than a year on the same project that the Minister has not come back and consulted with Members of this House. Not having a facility to renovate in Hay River entirely changes the scope and, in fact, if you go back to the debates that took place last year in discussion regarding the relocation of this program, it fundamentally changes that entire discussion. I think, Mr. Speaker, we have to have that discussion again based on some real details. Mr. Speaker, what happens when you start making political decisions on a whim, you run into problems like this. I’d like to ask the Minister when we will get some concrete detailed information about what it’s going to cost to build a new facility in Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.
Further Return To Question 3-15(5): Relocation Of The Territorial Treatment Centre
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, none of this was done on a whim and as elected politicians and officials, the Ministers and MLAs, we deal with politics and political decisions all the time. In this case, we made, in my opinion, a careful good decision. The option to renovate is still there, but it behoves me as Minister to get the information to see in fact whether there is the ability to construct new for the same price to extend the life and have a facility that would be there for 20 or 30 years longer than the renovated facility. Dene K’onia still is there and the potential renovation is there. Once the numbers are in I will be sharing those numbers and we’ll be able to see how accurate those estimates and recommendations were in terms of new construction within the existing budget. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Supplementary To Question 3-15(5): Relocation Of The Territorial Treatment Centre
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister who in his department is responsible for getting that type of information back to Members of this House, because obviously there seems to be a disconnect somewhere between Public Works and Services and the Department of Health and Social Services in what was going to happen with the Dene K’onia facility in Hay River. I would like to ask the Minister who in his department is ultimately responsible for letting Members of this House know that the scope of this project was about to change. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.
Further Return To Question 3-15(5): Relocation Of The Territorial Treatment Centre
I am, Mr. Speaker, and on May 26th I wrote to the chair of the Social Programs committee to give her the latest information that we had available. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Your final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.
Supplementary To Question 3-15(5): Relocation Of The Territorial Treatment Centre
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was five weeks after Public Works and Services’ ad appeared in the News of the North asking for the demolition of the facility in Hay River. Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to ask the Minister if that ad didn’t appear in the newspaper, when was he going to let Members of this House know? How come we had to find out via newspaper and via parents of children that attend the TTC here in Yellowknife? Why was that the case, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.
Further Return To Question 3-15(5): Relocation Of The Territorial Treatment Centre
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve had a number of discussions with the Minister for Public Works and Services, and we’ve made sure that the lines of communication are operating as they should be and we’ve rectified whatever missteps there may have been and we are carrying on. Thank you.
Thank you very much there, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got some questions for the Minister of Transportation with regard to the ferry situation in the Nahendeh. Recently, our operations have been curtailed, particularly in Fort Simpson we’re running a 12-hour day as opposed to, like, an 18-hour day as it was last year. As well, there was a very late start in getting the Wrigley ferry operational. If it had happened to the one at Fort Providence it would have been completely unacceptable to Yellowknife residents. I say it is unacceptable to Nahendeh residents to have this kind of operations being curtailed. Will this Minister tell me when will we get engineers and regular captains set for our ferries in the Nahendeh? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, this year, at the outset of our ferry operating season, we did experience some problems acquiring the necessary engineers to operate the ferry at the Liard River crossing. We have now identified the individuals that are needed. We are in the process of recertifying some of the people that will be working in an engineering capacity for the summer, and that’s being done by Transport Canada. We have an official coming to the North to do that. We also experienced some problems with the Nduli ferry, and the contractor has indicated to us now that he has resolved that issue and we should have no further problems with the personnel with both of those ferries. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Supplementary To Question 4-15(5): Nahendeh Ferry Operations
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just, once again, the situation particularly in Fort Simpson is that this shift in hours has really impacted the way that people do business. Previously you were able to go to Hay River and Fort Liard, in particular day trips and then back to the community of Fort Simpson. Just, again, I know that the ministry is working hard at getting the engineers and I would just like to urge, on behalf of the Nahendeh residents, to proceed in haste in getting these engineers. Just for question purposes I guess, Mr. Speaker, when is the Minister’s best estimate in getting the engineer and return of the regular captain at both ferries? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. McLeod.
Further Return To Question 4-15(5): Nahendeh Ferry Operations
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’ve had to increase our staff requirements at the Liard River crossing from two crews that operated historically through the contract process to three crews now and we did have some shortcomings when it came to some of the engineers. The engineers that had worked for the previous contractor no longer wanted to come to work for the territorial government with some of the issues around the lack of vacation pay and issues of that nature. We did go out and seek individuals that could be recertified and we have Transport Canada coming to the North, I think it’s this week, and we should have everyone scheduled for crew rotations by the next coming days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to take this first opportunity this session to ask a question to Minister of Health and Social Services and on an issue that he’s quite familiar with. It has to do with the efforts of the Yellowknife community to build the Alzheimer’s facility in the city, Mr. Speaker. This has been something that has been worked on by the YACCS and other senior leaders of the city for a very long time. A couple of years ago there was a suggestion by YACCS to the government for them to finance the money that was required to build the building as long as there could be a commitment from the government to pay for O and M. The Minister and the Cabinet considered that, but, instead of going that way, the government and the Minister has agreed to look at the overall long-term care strategy for all those who are in need of long-term care and mostly including seniors and also those with Alzheimer’s. Mr. Speaker, I could tell you that the community is very happy with the initial $1 million that we got to do some planning on that, but I just wanted to ask the Minister where he is with this project and to just reconfirm his support with moving forward with this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.
Return To Question 5-15(5): Long-Term Care Facility For Yellowknife
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what was initially proposed by YACCS was both that we would cover the O and M, as well YACCS would take out the loan and we would just cover off the monthly mortgage payments. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been on the table for some time now. There’s been funds, as the Member indicated, committed to this and the direction from Cabinet was to put this into the current business planning process that is now underway in the capital planning process and that has been done. Work has been done on the model and the initial cost estimates which we have received. All those figures have been included and, as far as I’m aware -- and I’ve asked the deputy about this -- this has been included into the capital plan for this 2007-08, as has been instructed by Cabinet. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.
Supplementary To Question 5-15(5): Long-Term Care Facility For Yellowknife
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate his answer in this regard and I could advise him that I’d like to continue to work with Cabinet and the Minister on this project and overall long-term care strategy for all those in need in the Territories, because I think the national trend and all the health indicators suggest that it’s better to have our people in need of care outside of the hospital setting and in communities. So, Mr. Speaker, I’m just wondering, for those who are not aware of the business plan and capital process, when would it be that those parties could be advised as to where this project might be at? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.
Further Return To Question 5-15(5): Long-Term Care Facility For Yellowknife
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, work is underway as we meet in this House. Business plans, both on the O and M side and the capital side are being worked on. There will be formal review by committee members in the coming months and formally, as well, in the fall. Over the next three or four months the work on the business plans is going to continue and it will go through the normal process of committee review and discussion, as well as initial review by Cabinet. So that process is going to unfold here over the next three or four months. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.
Supplementary To Question 5-15(5): Long-Term Care Facility For Yellowknife
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As my final supplementary on this issue, which we know we’re going to continue to work on, Mr. Speaker, could I just ask the Minister to reconfirm his support for this project and similar projects in the North for the seniors? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Miltenberger.
Further Return To Question 5-15(5): Long-Term Care Facility For Yellowknife
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all the capital projects we bring forward are very good on their merit and we’ve been working hard on recognizing, as the Member has pointed out, that there is a need here. We are competing for scarce resources, as the Members all know. But we are bringing it forward, along with a number of other initiatives and we will be making…We have, I believe, made a very good case. The factors are going to be looked at like the capital fund that’s available, the cost of the project as it’s been initially laid out. But we are moving on this and it is on our agenda, but the final words of comfort that I can offer, in my opinion it’s not a question of if we’re going to build this, it’s a question of when. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the Honourable Charles Dent, in regards to the residential schools issue. I want to ask the Minister, is his department taking the lead in terms of coordinating all the other GNWT departments in terms of helping the people who need to look at residential schools as a means to get some work done on their lives and also in their communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Education, Culture and Employment has the lead at getting information to the people who are claimants to make sure they can fill out their claims accurately and quickly to get them filed with the Residential Schools Commission. But in terms of the social work that would be necessary, no, that is not something that the department does. Each department has its own field of responsibility. For instance, the Department of Justice handles the legal sides in this jurisdiction. So it would be up to the Department of Health and Social Services to take the lead on counselling services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister in terms of helping the claimants with the information in regards to the settlements. I’d like to ask the Minister in terms of him taking the initiative of working with the Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Justice, in terms of also working with other agencies, such as the Assembly of First Nations or the Dene Nation or any other agencies out there that, in terms of coordinating a single unit, sort of sharing information and coordinating a project over the next couple years to help the former students of residential schools in all facets of how this federal government initiative will roll out for the Northwest Territories. I think that I’d like to ask the Minister if he would consider that almost an interagency committee. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d be happy to ensure that this item gets placed on the agenda for the social envelope Ministers. We have a committee that meets on a regular basis and I will work with my colleagues to ensure that we have a coordinated approach. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you. I look forward to the Minister’s response back from the social envelope committee members on this coordinating effort. I also ask if the Minister would look at inviting the Dene Nation as one part of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation as one agency. Another agency is across the Northwest Territories, the Gwich’in and Sahtu and Dehcho and Tlicho; other communities that are affected by the residential schools in terms of looking at the interagency that would look to help all the communities. So would the Minister look at the possibility of including the other regional or territorial organizations as a territorial, true territorial interagency committee? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I’ll make sure that we have that discussion with my colleagues in the social program departments to ensure that we do what we can to coordinate efforts in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Supplementary To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll ask the Minister, would it be optimistically ambitious to say if he can get back to us within the life of this, these Assembly days until the 8th of June to give us some kind of good response to the House with a response to my request? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.
Further Return To Question 6-15(5): Residential School Claimants
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, the next scheduled meeting for our committee is after session ends, but it is scheduled for the month of June. So it will be something that we’ll discuss and I’ll ensure that we contact the Member in writing to let him know what the results of that discussion are.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, (Translation) I have a question regarding interpreting and translating services. Today we look at the Northwest Territories, we’re having difficulties getting interpreters. Sometimes although we do have one interpreter here, there may be one here too, but they are very busy. We have young people that are in school. They are thinking of getting into this career. (Translation ends)
…importance of interpretation services here in the North, especially in this Assembly. We’re at a critical point where the GNWT must consider re-establishing in-house interpretation and translation services which could be located in regional centres. There is a clear need for the GNWT to work with Aurora College to reinstate interpreting and translating program for aboriginal languages, including specializing in medical and judicial terminology, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Charles Dent, can the Minister indicate to this Assembly how successful the past or previous interpreting/translating courses through Aurora College were and a positive outcome out of the program? Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that there are a few that I can mention in my region that have gained positive out of this program. Mahsi.
