Debates of May 31, 2005 (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. I think this would be a good time to take a brief recess.

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Mahsi, Madam Speaker. I will continue with questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services on the issue of the TTC. Madam Speaker, tenacity and perseverance are very much skills to be admired at the ministerial level. That’s one of the reasons I had confidence in making sure that Mr. Miltenberger went in there and I still have confidence in him and his capacity. You know something, Madam Speaker, flexibility and having an open mind are qualities that are equally important in having a Minister there and this is where I would like to see the Minister demonstrate this quality.

The Minister has opened the door a little bit, Madam Speaker, and said that he is going to disclose some information to us. My question, Madam Speaker, is, is this going to be information only exclusive to Members, or is it going to be the kind of information that can be shared with the public and the media and with stakeholders in this issue? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 60-15(4): Disclosure Of Information About The Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Member for his vote of confidence. I would also like to point out that when it comes to flexibility and being responsive, and I like to think creative, it is Health and Social Services in the last few years that has come up with midwifery legislation, nurse practitioner legislation, that has moved to do a facilities review that is going to make sure that the renovations to Stanton go ahead, that consolidates the clinics in Yellowknife, among other things, in addition to the work we have done with alcohol and drugs. I would ask that the Member keep that in mind as we focus on this particular issue.

The information that we give to Members, the assumption is it is their information. There is no caveat that I am putting on it that it can't be shared. Once it is out of my hands, it is their information. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Supplementary To Question 60-15(4): Disclosure Of Information About The Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. That is going to give us some extra measure to be able to go out to our constituents who, as much as we as MLAs, seek to know what was behind the department's decision and make our own judgments on it.

Madam Speaker, this will be my last question on at least this go-round here. If the Minister says there are no caveats on it, then I would ask whether he would intend to table the document so that it would be available to everyone all at the same time. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 60-15(4): Disclosure Of Information About The Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I was asked to provide this information to the Members and I will do that. There are no caveats on it. I will also bring a package to Cabinet tomorrow to get some feedback, as we do before we table any documents, to see what the will of Cabinet is. At this point, the Member will have the information. He can look at it and determine how best he wants to use it, as will every other Member of this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Housing, the Honourable David Krutko. Would the Minister be able to answer my question which is how many people in the Yellowknife area in the last two years were turned down for EDAP loans, whether they were disqualified or they were applicable for loans but there was not enough money? If the Minister can't answer that question, can he agree to supply that information before the end of session? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Krutko.

Return To Question 61-15(4): Statistics On EDAP Program

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will have to take that question as notice. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I spoke earlier of the TTC and the issues that we are facing with the proposal to move the TTC out of Yellowknife, and that being a microcosm of other issues facing families in the Northwest Territories with children who have autism, ADHD, behavioural problems and things like that.

I have a constituent who recently moved north from the Maritime provinces. In the Maritimes, Nova Scotia particularly, respite care for their child was readily available and when they moved north to the Northwest Territories, they found it to be quite challenging in terms of accessing respite care for their son. I know there was a pilot project that concluded at the end of March. I would like to ask the Minister today where the evaluation is for that program and if families that are in need of respite care for their children are going to be able to access the respite care. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.

Return To Question 62-15(4): Access To Respite Care

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my recollection is that the evaluation will be completed at the end of this month, the first part of June. In the meantime, the department is continuing to fund the program as well. We are not arguing the merits of the program; we are looking at how best we can maintain it in Yellowknife and look to expand it to other communities, as well, where it is an issue. We are also working through the business plan and some of the money that may come to us, God willing, when the federal budget is finally passed, will allow us to put some more funds into respite care. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 62-15(4): Access To Respite Care

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am wondering if the Minister is aware that there is currently a waiting list for families wishing to access respite care and the fact that there are…I believe my constituent was, I think, number 11 or 12 on a list. I find it hard to believe that a family would have to be put on a list. You start to wonder, there are 11 other families that are impacted by being on this waiting list. Is the Minister aware of a waiting list and what steps is he going to take to try to address the concerns of the people that need this service? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 62-15(4): Access To Respite Care

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, maybe just to give a bit of perspective on this issue; up until relatively recently, before the start of this pilot project in Yellowknife, there was only medical respite, which closed the door on a majority of people that had dependants at home that didn't need medical respite but could benefit from the program that was created here in Yellowknife on a pilot basis.

We have taken the step to move away from just the medical respite to do the social respite. I acknowledge fully in this House that we are beset by far more problems than we have resources. We have put money into this. I am aware that there is a waiting list. I am aware that this program only exists in Yellowknife right now and that we are working hard to make sure that we can come up with ways to resource this, so that we can expand the service to make it available not only as needed in Yellowknife, but to other communities as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 62-15(4): Access To Respite Care

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am wondering why residents in the Northwest Territories would not be offered the same types of services that they are in southern Canada and whose responsibility is that? Is that our government's responsibility, or is this something that we can go back to the federal government to try to find funds for so that residents here in the Northwest Territories are treated exactly the same as they would be in some of the other provinces? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 62-15(4): Access To Respite Care

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, for the most part I think the citizens of the Northwest Territories are treated as good as or better than their counterparts in southern jurisdictions, but the Member's point is a good one.

This is a recent program. The need has been there clearly for some time. We have acknowledged that need. We have taken steps to institute, as I indicated, a pilot. We are going to go through the evaluation process, but with an eye towards how do we continue or expand the program.

We have been getting or we are going to get significant amounts of money from the federal government. We are doing a briefing with committee, I believe it's Thursday, that is going to lay out the federal money that we do have, that we haven't had and it has to go towards our Treasury Board or is still tied up in the budget, as well as with a list of how we are proposing and planning to expend those funds or put them to use. One of those areas is in fact to try to better fund this program. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 62-15(4): Access To Respite Care

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for recognizing this need and I would also like to mention the fact that the families out there that do access this non-medical respite are truly grateful for the help that they receive. I would like to ask the Minister if or when the evaluation on that pilot project is complete, he would share it with all the Regular Members of this House? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 62-15(4): Access To Respite Care

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would be happy to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my question is to the Premier of the Northwest Territories, Mr. Handley. In light of the recent news reports this morning with the federal government, Cabinet and the Assembly of First Nations members meeting, it is the first time I think in history that AFN is having a meeting with the federal Cabinet in Ottawa. Would the Minister consider having something along that line, similar to our Cabinet and the aboriginal organization's governments in the Northwest Territories, within the life of this Assembly? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 63-15(4): Consideration For Aboriginal Leaders And Territorial Cabinet Meeting

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Our government is always open to ways of consulting with aboriginal leaders. We have the Circle of Northern Leaders; we try to be more inclusive. We also have the Aboriginal Summit where I meet with the leaders and I certainly would consider expanding it beyond just meeting with myself to meeting with all the Members of Cabinet if they want. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Premier Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 63-15(4): Consideration For Aboriginal Leaders And Territorial Cabinet Meeting

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you, Premier. I think it is really openness of the evolution of the Northwest Territories, in terms of expanding it to the different forums that we have been involved in so far. Having the suggestion as the northern governments or the aboriginal governments, is there any appetite, I guess, for having these aboriginal governments meet with Cabinet on some of the important issues that we have been talking about for the last three or four days, on the issues in our communities for the aboriginal governments? Can we be part of the Cabinet's decision? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Premier Handley.

Further Return To Question 63-15(4): Consideration For Aboriginal Leaders And Territorial Cabinet Meeting

Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I say, we are always open to meetings. We probably meet with aboriginal leaders in our government more than any other government in Canada, certainly more than the federal government. It isn't anything new for us to meet with other Members.

As far as involvement in Cabinet decisions, I think that that is a different kind of forum and not one that we could easily accommodate here, because we are making decisions on behalf of the 19 of us and to begin bringing other people into it, I'm assuming vote, would be going a bit further than what I would contemplate. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Premier Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 63-15(4): Consideration For Aboriginal Leaders And Territorial Cabinet Meeting

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the Premier is correct in terms of our willingness to involve other northern representatives in our government. We have shown some great leadership by the Cabinet and the leader of the government here, in terms of involving the northern people in our decisions as 19 Members of the Legislative Assembly.

I guess the extra step here is to go a little further in terms of having, like the federal government, a process where we can investigate and see where can northern people, aboriginal governments….because it truly is a government-to-government relationship. Right now we have one as the territorial government, ourselves, and I'm not too sure of the aboriginal governments' status within this government here in terms of how they are being looked upon.

I once again ask the Premier would he consider having maybe a different forum, maybe a northern governments' forum that would involve all the different organizations in the Northwest Territories? There is one organization that really isn't a government, that is the aboriginal governments under the land claims. Again, would the Premier give some consideration as to how they could be involved in the Cabinet decisions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Premier Handley.

Further Return To Question 63-15(4): Consideration For Aboriginal Leaders And Territorial Cabinet Meeting

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Again, we are always open to hearing the viewpoints from aboriginal leaders, from municipal leaders, from all of the leaders in the Territories, so I am always open to new ways of being able to consult. At the same time, we have to respect each other's differences, as well. I have often been to aboriginal leaders' meetings where I am told it is in camera and I am not welcome inside. Just wait outside until they finish the in camera meeting. It works both ways. We wouldn't want to ask the aboriginal governments to include us in their decision-making, and the same thing applies this way as well.

As a public government, we are elected to represent all the people; we have to have some periods where we would not include others in our decision-making. Having said that though, on consultation, on arriving at joint decisions through consultation, through consensus, we are open to doing that and we have done that.

Madam Speaker, I would like to just say, as well, I think a leadership role in bringing for example aboriginal leaders into the Western Premiers meeting when we held it in Inuvik, of being an advocate for getting the aboriginal members to meet with the First Ministers and with the Council of the Federation, all the Premiers, that has been our way of working in the North and we carry it even beyond our boundaries. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Premier Handley. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Supplementary To Question 63-15(4): Consideration For Aboriginal Leaders And Territorial Cabinet Meeting

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the evolution of the Northwest Territories is ever changing and part of my final supplementary is to the Premier in terms of having a forum, I guess in terms of how we are creating a new territory because of the settlements of the land claims and just recently the progress that is made in the Deh Cho region. Now the other areas are also looking at the land claims. Truly government-to-government relationships would happen in terms of creating this new territory, because the land claims would give a little more jurisdiction to the settled claims, in terms of each region. I guess I am asking the Minister if he would consider having a forum that would have a truly government-to-government relationship on a new territory for us here in the North. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Premier Handley.

Further Return To Question 63-15(4): Consideration For Aboriginal Leaders And Territorial Cabinet Meeting

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yes, we will consider that. I have to say though, Madam Speaker, that we are getting so many organizations in the North that we have to look at how we do business, because I have met with community leaders who say they represent their interests, nobody else; I've met with regional leaders who say they represent theirs; I've met with the Dene Nation who say they represent everybody on a broad range of issues; I've had meetings with the Intergovernmental Forum who say they represent everyone; I've met with the Aboriginal Summit who say they represent everyone.

I think before we would add more bodies on top of that to consult with, we want to look at how do we do business together in a way that is more streamlined. Madam Speaker, I am open to it, but, at that same time, we want to look at how we are conducting all our business right now and is it the most efficient way. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and it has again to do with the transfer of the TTC. Madam Speaker, as I have already repeated many times today, the sense I am getting from the people out there, especially the professionals who have been involved in delivering services and addressing the needs of the children who are being treated in this facility, I think that the people will be appalled that the people who do this have never been consulted. In fact, I just learned today that the most senior education official in Yellowknife asked one of the senior officials in the department, not to long ago, whether they knew anything about this. They said no.

I would like to know whether or not the department has talked to administrators of education in Hay River as to the capacity and what more they would need in order to deliver these programs. Has the Minister looked into that? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 64-15(4): Educational Needs Of The Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, no, the department, as I said earlier today, wasn't consulted on the proposal. I have every confidence that the education system in any of our communities can handle the support that is required. The department provides funding for a teacher at the facility and the expectation is that the youngsters will reintegrate back into the school system. We are comfortable that as the process works itself through, that the young people in the facility will be prepared to participate in a regular school. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Dent. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 64-15(4): Educational Needs Of The Territorial Treatment Centre