Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Although there is no plan to build a long-term care facility in Aklavik or Fort McPherson, we will continue to work with the Housing Corporation. We’ve done some initial work with the Housing Corporation in trying to provide assisted living to individuals to remain in both of those communities. I think that the Housing Corporation does have money to renovate the Joe Greenland and also to provide a stand-alone building that they would call assisted living. What Health has to do is to find the O and M to support the seniors that are going to be in there. So we are in the process of pulling all of our continuous care for seniors programs together right across the Territories, and we’ll come to the government with one block under O and M on how we wish to support the various communities and to allow seniors to remain independent, if possible. That will include Fort McPherson, working with the NWT Housing Corporation, and Aklavik, also working with the Housing Corporation on facilities that would be owned by them.
Thank you. Long-term care, I feel, is the department’s responsibility and I’m very glad for what Housing is doing, but I’d like to ask the department to actually put it in their budget for next year’s plans to do a capital infrastructure for an actual elders facility.
We’ve had this discussion over an extended period, a long time period here, discussing those types of needs. It would be good to be able to provide this official long-term care in all of the communities so that no one ever has to leave their communities, no elders will ever have to leave their community. It’s a matter of money. It’s a matter of funding in order for us to provide a long-term care facility.
Let’s just look at one community that I have a few numbers on, Aklavik. Aklavik is a good one to go to. In order to operate the facility that’s available in Aklavik as a long-term care facility, a fully functioning long-term care facility like we have in Inuvik, Fort Smith, and Hay River, we would need to have at least four nurses. Actually, the position is four and a half nurses. When we went into Aklavik, the community was not looking for long-term care to that extent. They were saying they wanted… What they were discussing was more like assisted living where they would provide home care services. I think they had actually indicated that maybe the department could go back into the O and M budget to try to get at least an additional nurse out of it, but to beef up the home care and home support services and then doing some work in the building to make the building more barrier free. It was more targeted to seniors who had a bit of mobility issues and not really a facility for dementia.
Long-term care is largely an area for people with serious mobility issues, and dementia and other types of brain injuries. If we go into a long-term care facility in every community with the staffing and everything, we would not be able to afford it. That’s what the issue here is. So we need to try to provide accommodations to the community as best we can with the resources we have available, plus some extra resources that we’re prepared to put in to try to keep people as close to home as possible and as independent as possible as well.
I thank the Minister for his answers there. I look forward to working with him on an ongoing basis. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Moving on with questions. We’re on page 6-4. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to ask about a Detah health services delivery facility, a trailer. I know the Minister is aware of this. I believe he committed to removing that from the community. It’s essentially abandoned and a bit of an eyesore, but it’s mostly using up valuable land there and is a bit of a concern for the safety of kids, being an abandoned structure. I’m wondering if the Minister can confirm that the removal is in this budget, or would that fall into operations, I’m wondering. If I could just get clarity on that.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The disposition of that facility is not in this budget. We are prepared to start discussions with Public Works and Services on how to dispose of that unit and talk to the community, but it was not in this capital plan to dispose of that facility at this time.
I appreciate the Minister’s offer. I wonder, if he could, what he would suggest to move this forward. Obviously, the community is concerned about it. I’ve brought it to the Minister’s attention and the Minister agrees that it is a concern. How can we get this done?
The department is prepared to have that discussion with community leaders as soon as possible and then also discuss this with the Minister of Public Works and Services to see if we can coordinate something quicker than what we had initially intended.
I appreciate that offer. We can follow that up. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That’s all I had.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Page 6-7, Health and Social Services, activity summary, health services programs – sorry. Page 6-4, Health and Social Services, activity summary, health services programs, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $31.181 million.
Agreed.
Turn to pages 6-7 and 6-8, Health and Social Services, activity summary, community wellness and social services, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $5.2 million.
Agreed.
Turn to page 6-2, Health and Social Services, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $36.381 million.
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Health and Social Services is completed?
Agreed.
Thank you very much. I’d like to thank Mr. Beaulieu and his witnesses, Mr. Elkin and Ms. DeLancey. Any comments, Mr. Beaulieu?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to thank committee. I would like to provide committee with a breakdown of the budgets for the electronic medical records asked for by yourself, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. We’ll take that document. Thank you very much. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort the witnesses out of the Chamber.
We are moving on to section 7. More importantly, turn your attention to page 7-2 on Justice. Before we do that, I’ll ask the Minister of Justice if he has any witnesses that he’d like to bring into the Chamber.
I do, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. If I could get the Sergeant-at-Arms to please bring the witnesses into the Chamber.
Mr. Abernethy, would you like to introduce your witnesses to the Chamber, please?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my right I have Sylvia Haener, who is the deputy minister of the Department of Justice. On my left I have Kim Schofield, who is the director of finance of the Department of Justice.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Ms. Schofield, Ms. Haener, welcome to the Chamber. Again, committee, we are deferring page 7-2 and I can turn your attention to page 7-6, Justice, activity summary, court services, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $334,000.
Agreed.
Turn to section 7-9. Justice, activity summary, corrections, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $465,000.
Agreed.
Does committee have any questions?
Agreed.
There being none, turn to page 7-2. Justice, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $799,000.
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of the Department of Justice is complete?
Agreed.
Thank you very much Mr. Abernethy, Ms. Haener, Ms. Schofield. Thank you for your time. If I can get the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort you from the Chamber, please. Thank you. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.
---Carried
I will now rise and report progress.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 64-17(3), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2013-2014, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Do we have a seconder to the motion? Mr. Blake.
---Carried
Orders of the day for Tuesday, October 23, 2012, at 1:30 p.m.:
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Returns to Oral Questions
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to Opening Address
Petitions
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
Motions
First Reading of Bills
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tabled Document 64-17(3), NWT Capital Estimates 2013-2014
Bill 2, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2012
Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Tuesday, October 23, 2012, at 1:30 p.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
