Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is an issue that continues to plague the small communities as having adequate housing for some of the professionals that go in there. I could inform the Member that in his community, through the good work of the North Slave Housing district housing office, they have come up with a solution to take care of the needs of two of the teachers. They have agreed to rent them an NWT Housing Corporation house, so that would take care of the issue. That will go on until the end of this school year and then we will look for a longer-term solution. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister give myself in this House an update on what the NWT Housing Corporation is doing on the long-term solution? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the longer-term solution is we are working with the Refocusing Government committee. We are in the process of speaking to a lot of the development corporations in the community. We have had some excellent buy-in. There has been a lot of interest expressed by the development corporations in accessing some of the programs. We do have some incentives that we are proposing to them. Also, one of the incentives is using some of our existing houses and see if we could turn those into housing for staff, if there is a surplus in some of the communities. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister advise this House when we can see some sort of program roll out so we can examine the long-term solution that the Minister speaks of? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are hoping to have something together very shortly here to share with committee before we go into the next session that would help address a lot of the concerns expressed by some of the MLAs from the small communities, especially the non-market communities. We are hoping to have something very shortly here put together. We will be able to share that with committee and get some feedback and input from committee too. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Speaker, as per an earlier commitment, during his next visit to Lutselk’e, can the Minister commit to meeting with the local DEA and the teachers so he can hear firsthand on the issue in Lutselk’e? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will commit to meet with the DEA. It is always in our best interest to hear what the communities are saying, because they know best what is needed in their communities. If we can work in cooperation with them, that would make the whole process a lot smoother and we will be able to provide housing for staff and a lot of the professionals in the small communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister for sport, also the Minister of MACA. I had a few questions in my statement. I would like to repeat them here in the hope of getting a positive answer. Does the Minister realize that the multisport games buck stops at his desk? Will he be more receptive to the 55-plus athletes’ request for financial assistance? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish that were true that the buck stops at my desk and I would be able to dole out the money to all those that asked, because we do get a lot of requests for funding. We do try and tend to look after the youth and try and get them out there and take part in a lot of these games. If there is a desire to fund adult games, I am not sure if that is where we want to go to, because the requests will start coming in from other adults.
We are always willing to have a list and see if there are ways that we can support all games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
That is, unfortunately, the answer I expected from the Minister. I appreciate that there is a focus on youth, but I have to remind all of us, the Minister particularly, youth become adults, and adults become seniors and elders. We need to keep them active. It has been stated earlier by another Member that active seniors reduce our hospital and medical care costs.
I think the Minister said that he might look into providing funding for seniors if this is something which is going to be ongoing. It has been ongoing for about four or five games now. What will the Minister do to find the $50,000 to help our seniors get to the 2010 55-plus Games? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I said we will have a discussion as to the process of funding adult sports and I will put the adults in with the seniors, because there will be a lot of requests coming from other sporting organizations, other adult sports groups.
If we were to start this, we do have a mandate to focus the multisport games on the youth. I could have a conversation with my Cabinet colleagues and see if there are pots of money available, but I really can’t make a commitment -- I don’t think I did -- that we are going to fund this from the multisport budget. Thank you.
I don’t want to thank the Minister, because I didn’t really like that answer. The Minister said that we do, and I stated as well, we do support multisport games. The Seniors 55-plus Games are a multisport game. There aren’t many adult multisport games. I would encourage the Minister to rethink supporting seniors versus supporting adults, because I don’t think we have adult games. I would like to know from the Minister, considering that these 55-plus Games are a multisport game, will the Minister consider in the future on providing funding through the Sport and Recreation Council to fund it through to Sport North so they can assist the seniors in getting to the games? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t expect to be thanked for an answer that is not what the Members are looking for, but sometimes we have to give those answers whether they are popular or needed or not. If it opens me up for criticism as to the position I am taking focussing on the youth of the Northwest Territories who will become adults, who will become seniors and they will be able to function better and be a better person for going to these games. I am not willing to make a commitment to fund the seniors multisport games out of the multisport game budget, because that mandate is for the youth and that budget is for the youth. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
To the Minister, then, if the Minister won’t change that mandate and it is going to stay focused on youth for funding through the Sport and Recreation Council and lottery proceeds and so on, I would like to know from the Minister whether or not there is any possibility that he will take the lead, canvass four or five different departments and find $5,000 to $10,000 from each of these departments that will assist our seniors. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I will have discussions with my colleagues as to if there is anything we can do to support the seniors. We have supported them in the past. I think it is being noted by a lot of the participants from the other jurisdictions across the country that we do look after our seniors pretty good. They were the envy of the games, because a lot of it was financial backing that they got from this government it was noted. A lot of people appreciated that. So I will work with my Cabinet colleagues, and, also, we would like to support regional seniors’ games if that opportunity arises, because we have regions all across the Territories where our seniors from those regions don’t get an opportunity to participate in any kind of games at all. So anything we can do to help folks out there lead a healthy lifestyle is something that we’re always willing to look at. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my Member’s statement was on the H1N1 flu vaccinations in the communities. I didn’t really have any questions, but got thinking about the issues and the dates that I was reading out. Health Canada said that the flu vaccinations will be given to our communities first, Mr. Speaker, and on the schedule I have here, Tuk is 10 days away, Sachs Harbour is 12, Paulatuk is 13, Ulukhaktok is 14 days away and 15 days away. Mr. Speaker, why is there such a holdup in the flu vaccinations? Why are they doing Yellowknife, Diavik Diamond Mine and the southern communities first when it’s a more harsh environment in our riding? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to thank the Member for his leadership and speaking directly to his constituents in his riding to take advantage of this vaccination program, because it is safe and it is important.
Mr. Speaker, as we have communicated to the public, we have action teams travelling to the communities. A couple of things that people should know when they look at these lists on the websites are that even if communities are not listed there, there are vaccinations happening by the local staff. The second thing about the Beaufort-Delta region is that contrary to what we thought...Because our government fought hard, and I made it clear in our provincial and territorial Health Ministers telephone calls all through the summer that we needed to have the vaccine first, because we knew the fall and winter comes here first and our areas are remote and isolated and we do not have readily accessible acute care facilities everywhere, that we wanted to be first and we did become first, but within the region we do have to make some priority decisions. So far the Beaufort-Delta region is showing a lot less cases of H1N1 and I think that’s the basis of those decisions.
Well, it just shows that the Minister’s categorizing us again in regard to putting us on the backburner here in regard to our dates for our communities. So the Minister also told me, Mr. Speaker, that if I was to phone my health centres in my communities that I represent, they would say they have vaccine on hand.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, the vaccines have been distributed and it’s to communities. Communities have them and local staff are able to administer them. What we are doing with these action teams is that we know that our health care professionals, during the normal course of business, are short staffed and overworked in many cases. So we didn’t want to burden them with the extra work that was required to do the vaccinations. So the action teams are augmenting the workload. But, yes, most of our health centres have supplies of the vaccine. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, what are the plans if there’s a big outbreak of the flu in our communities? What plans are there in place? Do communities know how to deal with this situation? How is it being dealt with by the local community governments?
I can advise the House, all of the communities in the Territories are under close surveillance. There are staff ready to react on hours of notice. Inuvik office would react if there is a major breakout in some communities.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to commit to the Member that I’m going to look at this list again and get information on what else is happening in Tuktoyaktuk and his region while they are waiting for the scheduled teams to arrive.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Health Canada said that the flu shot should have been given to our communities first and that should have been the way it should have been properly handled, but I do commend the Minister for the work that she’s been doing so far. I look forward to bringing her to the communities and seeing it firsthand. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. I don’t think I heard a question there. I’ll allow the Minister to answer is she wants to. Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. NWT is a priority list. We are moving very fast and so far we have vaccinated more than 4,000 people. I will get back to the Member on how we can move some of the communities around. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of the Housing Corporation questions regarding the investments made into the Sahtu of the Northwest Territories in terms of having some simple homes such as log homes or some sort of simple homes in the communities like Colville Lake that could be built, in terms of being supportive of the GNWT’s vision and goals for this Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, we would like to see the local communities put more input into the houses that go into their communities. We are, for the basic shelter, just redoing that right now. We’re hoping to be able to roll that out pretty soon and we’re looking to get some input.
As far as the log homes go, there were a couple of pilot projects done in the past. At this point in time, it doesn’t make economic sense. If we can do it a lot cheaper than the pilot projects were done, then it’s something that we’re willing to have a look at. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister is correct; there was some log construction homes done in the past and, certainly, we learned some valuable lessons in there. I think there are some companies out there now that can design certain log homes and certain people could have certain ideas as to how to build.
I would ask more specifically in terms of Colville Lake, in terms of the trappers, in terms of a similar house that they could have a very basic home that when they want to go out to the trapline, they can close down their houses and come back when they open up. Something very simple, very basic, something that the community of Colville Lake or any other small communities in the Northwest Territories like Nahanni Butte or Tsiigehtchic could be appreciative of owning a home. Would the Minister look into that type of concept? Thank you.
As I stated before, the basic shelter concept is one we’re looking at right now. We need to make sure that we do our due diligence on this one and just not roll it out until we’ve been able to see that it’s something that the communities really do want and something that will work in the communities, and that we won’t have to be asked to go back later and install running water and other things, which has happened in the past. So we will be doing our due diligence on this one and making sure that when we do roll it out, it’s something that’s a worthwhile product. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I think if the Minister were to embark on this concept, it would be very worthwhile to look at in terms of people, I can speak for the Sahtu and, more specifically, Colville Lake, in terms of where there is still a lot of independence in the people in terms of their lifestyle. So this concept would work very well in that community. I’m not going to speak for other communities, but my region would certainly benefit. I want to ask the Minister if he would give his officials some leeway and flexibility in exploring with the people of Colville Lake or in the Sahtu region in terms of seeing if these types of homes can be developed in the region. Can the Minister make that commitment?
Mr. Speaker, I would make the commitment to the Member that we will have a serious look at this and we’ll make sure that it’s well thought out before we attempt to put it on the ground. We’ll seek some input from a lot of the Members, because a lot of them do represent the small communities. We’ll get as much input as we can before we attempt to roll this out. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister also commit to working with other Cabinet colleagues in terms of how they could probably put together sort of a training package, if that makes more sense in terms of the Department of Education or Aurora College, in terms of looking at a home like this in the Sahtu or any of the other communities in the North that makes sense?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.
The Housing Corporation will be willing and the Housing Corporation has been taking the lead on a lot of the training. They’ve provided packages to some of the schools where they can use that for training. So we are quite interested in making sure that we’re able to have our Northerners trained in building these units. I would commit to the Member that I’ll have discussions with my Cabinet colleagues as to some of the training monies that we’re able to access to help see this come about. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for Minister McLeod, Minister Michael McLeod. I just wanted to follow up on my Member’s statement and ask the Minister of Transportation with regard to some of the contracting opportunities that can be missed when they’re out in our regions and communities. These are huge opportunities. They’re big contracts. There’s the Blackwater Bridge contract near the community of Wrigley. Residents have been advising myself, and probably the Minister’s office as well, that they’re missing opportunities. Some of it can be unfair practice, I believe. I would just like to know if some of our contracts that we let out, is there any policy or guidelines attached to that saying that they must use as much resources from proximity communities -- in this case, the community of Wrigley -- to employ their people, use their equipment? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
