Debates of May 31, 2005 (day 5)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for the Minister of Health and Social Services on the issue of the removal of the TTC facility for behaviourally disturbed youngsters to Hay River. Madam Speaker, as my colleagues have already indicated and we’ve done so over the last few days here, the increasing information and substantiation that we are getting for the consequences that there will be for the children, for their families and for a wider range of services and frontline social agencies here in the city. There are at least four or five that have been brought to my attention that will be directly impacted or involved in this. It takes a community to raise a child and that’s what this centre has been trying to build for the last 10 years, a community of service for these children. Understanding that this centre is one of the treatment success stories for children in the Northwest Territories, why does the Minister insist on going ahead with what will surely amount to a very serious erosion to a very successfully built up part of our infrastructure for children? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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

Return To Question 53-15(4): Move Of Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, Bosco Homes provides a very high level of program service for children in Fort Smith and in TTC. As I have indicated repeatedly over the sitting of this Assembly, the decision has been made to relocate the program. The determination is that the program can be transferred and can operate without any erosion. The service will still be there. It’s a territorial program open to all the children in the Northwest Territories. It will continue to provide the service, educationally and socially, that it currently does provide right now. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 53-15(4): Move Of Territorial Treatment Centre

Madam Speaker, we really are at a standoff at this point. We must come back to the whole premise of when a major change is made to a piece of social delivery or piece of social delivery infrastructure, that there are significant consequences. The Minister will not accept this, but we are seeing and hearing an overwhelming body of information and very sincere expressions from professionals about what this will cause. Madam Speaker, our point to the Minister has been to show us the plan, to show that the department understands and is knowledgeable about the consequences. We have not seen that. When is the Minister going to put that in front of Members and in front of the community, so we can all see that his claims are indeed going to be substantiated? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 53-15(4): Move Of Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I am acutely aware that any change in service delivery that affects communities has impact, especially in the involved communities. This program is going to continue to be delivered by Bosco Homes. They are going to continue to provide the high level of service that they have provided in Fort Smith all these years. The Premier stood up in the House yesterday and indicated that by the end of this day we will have packages for the Members that will lay out the documentation that got us to this point and that will be ready as promised. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 53-15(4): Move Of Territorial Treatment Centre

Madam Speaker, this is not good government.

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Bad.

We have established a convention and a belief as part of the process of consensus that we will work with each other on significant changes like this. I will say it again and again and again, we were denied the access, involvement and input to this kind of process in this decision. It was, indeed, something that was out there as a very viable idea. We came back into this House just last week and we find out that this is a done deal. This is where this government has let us down and it’s letting this community down. The government must rescind its desire or its program to move this facility until the community is convinced that the consequences can be managed. Will the Minister do so? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 53-15(4): Move Of Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I can appreciate the Member of Yellowknife Great Slave’s concerns, very specific and germane to his constituency. However, as a Member of this government and as a Cabinet Minister, we have a responsibility to think territorial-wide and to take careful, measured decisions that we think will positively benefit all of the residents, including the children. We have done that in this case. We have given a clear signal of what we intend to do. We have indicated that there will be a period of time to transition this with renovations and such over the next 18 months. We will be coming forward in the business plans with more specifics. We will follow through on that to go through the process. From a territorial-wide perspective, it’s our opinion that this is a good decision, a very viable decision, a program that can be adequately and well run in Hay River by the current contractor who has a long track record of providing a high level of service. Thank you.

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

Supplementary To Question 53-15(4): Move Of Territorial Treatment Centre

Can the Minister advise the House, Madam Speaker, of the process and arrangements for ascertaining how that contractor will be selected and, Madam Speaker, how the other significant supports that will be required from the community such as the involvement of the local school authority, the local medical authority, will be built into this continuum of care that a facility like this needs? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Miltenberger.

Further Return To Question 53-15(4): Move Of Territorial Treatment Centre

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, one must be clear that Hay River is one of the largest communities outside of Yellowknife and it has a very high level of educational facilities. It has a very high level of health care services. It’s about a half-hour or 40 minutes across the lake to Yellowknife to access specialist services that may be here at Stanton. Very clearly, we will be working with the involved agencies to make sure that the transition is a smooth one.

I want to point out, once again, that Hay River has a history or providing service to children that goes back many, many years, far longer than 10. I have been involved now with Health and Social Services in this capacity, as well as a former employee, and that goes back to the ‘70s. I know that back then, Hay River at that time provided a high level of service to children. In this case, they will continue to carry on that fine tradition, I am sure. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. At this time, I would like to use my prerogative as chair and the Speaker to recognize in the gallery the presence of one of our Member’s mothers from Tulita, Laura Lennie. Also with Mr. Yakeleya is his partner, Cheryl. Welcome to the gallery.

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