Debates of October 18, 2005 (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m going to pick up where some of my colleagues left off, and I’ve got questions as well for the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation on their track record in terms of seniors’ facilities. I’d like to first of all ask the Minister if he can advise us, as a segue into this, Mr. Speaker; we had the opportunity in April to visit the community of Tuktoyaktuk, which has a seniors’ facility, and Regular Members were able to go and get a tour of this facility. Mr. Speaker, we couldn’t find one senior in the entire facility, and in fact there were apartments there that hadn’t been lived in in three years. We’d go in and open the fridge and the fridge would be on full blast, the heat was on full blast and there wasn’t a soul living in the whole place except for the caretakers, Mr. Speaker. I’d like the Minister to advise us what the capital costs and the ongoing associated O and M costs are for the seniors' facilities in Deline, Fort Resolution and Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Return To Question 154-15(4): Cost Of Seniors’ Facilities

Mr. Speaker, a lot of these facilities are built and designed with the Department of Health and Social Services, through the arrangement to provide seniors’ facilities in communities, and also in regard to alcohol and drug programs. The department, along with other departments, has done an assessment of all of the facilities that we presently operate with less than 30 percent capacity. We are presently in the process of working with those different agencies.

You touched on an area that was raised in the House earlier in regard to the Deline facility. We have a committee in place, and we’re hoping to have that unit up and running by 2006, and have the parties agree on exactly what the use of that facility is. The same thing applies to the facility in Tuk. That facility was constructed as any other seniors’ facility throughout the North. It was in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Services to provide seniors’ care in communities. But at the facility in Tuk, as you mentioned, we are presently in the process of restricting certain access to half of the facility and allowing that half of the facility to be used for public housing tenants. So we are looking at starting to rent out those facilities and keeping the other half for a seniors’ facility, as it has been agreed to. But again, through the review by the departments on the 30 percent occupancy to ensure that we find other uses for that facility.

The Member also mentioned the Somba K’e facility. We’re presently working with people in the private sector such as Bosco Homes and other agencies to see if they are interested in acquiring that facility for the intent of that facility, which was a treatment facility. I think because of the restrictions of the agreements that were in place prior to where we are today, where a lot of the agreements we had did not have an opt in or out clause, we’re basically stuck with the facility and paying the mortgage and whatnot on these facilities and to carry forward.

So, Mr. Speaker, that’s the short of it.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 154-15(4): Cost Of Seniors’ Facilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister what type of meaningful consultation takes place with a community that would allow a facility built in a community like Tuktoyaktuk to stand vacant for three years, and now we’re actually going to try to go back and do something about it? But whose responsibility is it that that facility built with our scarce resources sat empty for three years? I’d like to ask the Minister how much did it cost to build these three facilities, and what has been the ongoing operations and maintenance costs for those three facilities for the past three years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 154-15(4): Cost Of Seniors’ Facilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t have that detail in regard to the actual operational costs, but I know in regard to Somba K’e we had winterized that facility, which basically shut down last winter. We are in the process now of talking with the band and other corporations, and I know that the facility in Tuk was occupied with a few elders last year, but they are being used. So, Mr. Speaker, I don’t have the total operational costs of those facilities, but we are looking at alternative uses for those facilities, and we are trying to occupy them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Supplementary To Question 154-15(4): Cost Of Seniors’ Facilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is a sad thing that pieces of public infrastructure get built in communities, and, again, the Minister didn’t answer the question. What type of meaningful consultation takes place in a community that would allow a seniors’ facility to be built and nobody living in it for three years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Krutko.

Further Return To Question 154-15(4): Cost Of Seniors’ Facilities

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we all know, we do have a budgetary process that has to pass through this House, and it has to be approved in that process. How it gets there is determined by the department and the demands of communities.

In regards to elders’ facilities, the population does fluctuate where we do have other alternative uses for facilities. I think because of the capital process, we go through departments, come forward with the capital requirements to this House, and get the capital dollars to construct them. In regard to those facilities, I believe that there was a demand for this facility, and it was passed in this House. At present, we are seeing that there is less use for those facilities because of changing circumstances. The funding that was there in the past, especially a lot of the federal funding, has lapsed, and we have to look at alternative sources of revenues.

So, Mr. Speaker, the capital is approved through this House, and we all have an opportunity to debate it in the House. Thank you.