Thank you. It’s said that we need to think like our ancestors had been thinking. They knew the culture and the customs, Mr. Speaker. The culture taught them how to live in harmony with each other, so the people are saying we need to think like this again and that we must rely on a power greater than ourselves and that they don’t need alcohol in their lives.
So I say this: When will the Minister present a concrete on-the-land program for people in the small communities so they can take advantage of this service and this program?
Thank you. I think we have to really look at the philosophy of on-the-land treatment. We’re asking Aboriginal governments to provide us with proposals on what they see as something that will work for on-the-land treatment for the people, whether they be elders, the youth or families. This is not going to be a program where the government is going to come in with a program and then determine how the program will be set up. On-the-land treatment is something that would be community driven. We’ve received proposals from counsellors in the Sahtu even, and they’re very good, but what we’re trying to do is get the Aboriginal government to present that, whether it be the same thing or not. That’s how we wish to address those issues.
Certainly, the Sahtu people have been asking for on-the-land treatment programs ever since I became the MLA 10 years ago. With the closure of the Nats'ejee K'eh program, now the focus is coming back to the on-the-land treatment programs. I would ask the Minister to look at the programs. It may not fit within the prescribed policy or requirement, and this is coming from an Aboriginal community, government, that this is how they see it.
I would ask the Minister if he would dust off the proposals from the Sahtu to say yes, this could work for Colville Lake, Tulita or Deline. This can work in Fort Good Hope or Norman Wells. Would the Minister be willing to do that, to say yes, we can work on something like this? It’s been done already.
I can say that on-the-land treatment program is going to be very specific. It’s going to very specific to that community. I doubt if one program is going to even fit into two communities. Just about every individual community would have their own on-the-land program. There is going to be slight differences in every one of them. That’s why we’re really relying on Aboriginal people in the communities that said to us when we travelled and when the forum travelled, we want on-the-land treatment, so we’re asking them to come to us, bring us a proposal on what it is that they see on the land, and we will go out and try to find the funding to do that.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It seems that we have a disconnect. The Minister is asking the Aboriginal governments, the communities, to give us the proposal for on the land. The communities are saying this is what we believe is an on-the-land program and it seems that we’re not connecting as we need to sit down together and talk about this. We do have the proposals, I’ve seen them myself and I actually passed them on to the Minister.
Would the Minister then say, okay, Fort Good Hope, Tulita, Deline, Colville Lake even, we think we have a program. Let’s work on it together. I’m asking when can the Minister then say the Sahtu or any other regions, you can start having your on-the-land programs in your region.
When we discontinued funding to Nats'ejee K'eh, we had indicated to the individual governments, Aboriginal governments that approached us and asked us what we were going to do, we said at this point we had discontinued the funding and now we are working on developing something that’s going to work community by community, and we have promised them that sometime after the end of this fiscal year we would have things in place that would allow individual communities to access funding to run on-the-land programs.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
QUESTION 403-17(4):
HOME CARE HEALTH SERVICES
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to give the Minister a bit of a break on addictions. Earlier this month our Minister of Health and Social Services held a joint meeting with our federal Minister of State for Seniors, the Honourable Alice Wong, here in Yellowknife. The theme that came out of this meeting is how we can help our seniors and the challenges they face. I, like many, were interested in what exactly this territory will embark on to support our growing influx of seniors. My question today will be for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
Canada, in general, is way behind on home care help, as we have been informed by national patient advocates. Other provinces have taken steps to recognize this underfunded part of our health care system.
Can the Minister shed some light on what are his department’s plans to address our home care shortfall?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will be coming forward with enhanced home care in the next budget session. We have been working on developing enhanced home care. We’re working with the federal government. The federal government is providing us some funding directly for home care as well. It’s part of the overall continuum of care for seniors in the Northwest Territories. We do have a strategy to develop care for seniors and the idea is to maintain people in their own homes as long as possible.
I’m encouraged and looking forward to the strategy and the budget here coming up for seniors. For the record, I just want to let you know, my personal experience with home care workers has been excellent, professional and totally respectful.
Seniors’ safety is a paramount factor for life longevity. What is the Minister planning to do to address the growing safety needs of our seniors?
Senior safety, for me, is something that is sort of like an emerging issue. That may sound like an unusual response, but when you watch things at a national level, you’re starting to see the very beginnings of what the various provinces are doing to develop a system that tries to keep the seniors safe. Simple things like putting in peepholes, grab bars, alarms and those types of things is what the jurisdictions are working on. We, as the Department of Health and Social Services, in my responsibility for seniors, are looking at those types of things with our other national partners.
Again, I appreciate the Minister’s response on that. Seniors often deal with a rotating cast of nurses and personal care workers each with their own different style of delivering care. In fact, patients can encounter what is called a kaleidoscope of different messages that increase the risk of communication breakdown.
Can the Minister indicate what is his department doing to improve and address this kaleidoscope of different messages our seniors receive?
As the health professionals develop the electronic medical records, when the health professional comes into the home, whether it be a home care nurse or if that senior has gone to the health centre to visit with a doctor or a registered nurse, that electronic medical record is designed to be the basis of the continuum of care. So that individuals who have been given some advice on what to do, or changing medicines or any sort of issues that was in the past where there were some confusing messages coming in from the different types of individuals or nurses that they were dealing with time to time, you would see that this is there to try to address that issue.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, thank you to the Minister. Finally, the Minister is quoted in the Yellowknifer on October 14, 2013, which I’ll table later today, that is directly related to the topic that we’re talking about here today. I’m going to quote here: “If we’re able to hold 10 seniors back for 10 years, that’s $1 million a year.” Can the Minister explain this quote to the House?
On average, long-term care is about $100,000 per year per senior, so that was why. I just did the math, so 10 seniors would be $1 million for one year.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement, my concerns on the closing of the facility on the K’atlodeeche, I’m just wondering if the Minister of Health has a set plan for that facility in the near future.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The building will be secured by Public Works. There may be a couple of individuals that are continuing to work around the building. However, the plan, as I relayed to Chief Fabian, was to get together with the council and also ask if he had any issue with engaging the Stanton Elders Council to work with us on future use of that building. I don’t know what the future use of that building would be at this time, but we are consulting with some people to develop some ideas on what we can do with that building. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’m just looking for clarity. Is the Department of Health going to maintain the cost of this facility or is it being switched over to the Department of Public Works and Services in their control so it becomes a territorial facility open to any opportunities within the territorial government or is it remaining in the control of the Department of Health?
Mr. Speaker, until the Department of Health officially gives up the asset, it would remain with us. The thought is that we do that. Public Works has always maintained the building, so that’s continuing. This is a government asset sitting on reserve land, but we will continue to use the building. Public Works will continue to maintain the building. At some point down the road, if Health has no use for that building, it will be put back in the government inventory for other uses. Thank you.
Obviously, being the optimist, I’m looking at this as an opportunity for the Department of Health. I am wondering if the Minister is looking at any opportunities to decentralize positions and replace some of the 14 positions that have been lost in the region.
Mr. Speaker, that thought hasn’t been contemplated at this time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess my final question would be, if the Department of Health doesn’t have a current use for it, would they be willing to turn it over immediately if an opportunity were to present itself from one of the other departments.
Mr. Speaker, I’m sorry; I didn’t hear the Member’s question.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Bouchard, could you restate your question to the Minister?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question was if the Department of Health is willing to hand over the facility if an opportunity presented itself for some other department.
Mr. Speaker, if there was a better use for the building within government overall, I think, as a government we will make that decision to use that facility for something else like training or something that would be used outside of Health’s mandate. As I indicated, we need to have that discussion with the people from the reserve – it’s built on the reserve – and then take their advice on what we should be doing with that building. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions today for the Minister of Justice and looking at how we can work on preventing and controlling substances that go into the communities, but also what can the RCMP staff do when they are in a community to assist the community and some prevention and training programs.
My first question for the Minister of Justice is what has been done so far. I know there have been a lot of good alcohol and drug busts of bootleggers in the Sahtu region, for example, and up in one of the communities of Beaufort-Delta, but what has been happening within the RCMP “G” Division in terms of working the point of entry for alcohol and drugs going into the small communities? Obviously, we have high incidences in the small communities of alcohol and drug use. It’s getting in there somehow. What is the Department of Justice and the RCMP doing to control that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the individual communities, we have community policing plans where the community leadership and the RCMP get together and set their priorities. That helps them focus their particular area in areas the community wants. But it does take cooperation with community members to stop alcohol from coming into the community. We do have the Crime Stoppers number where individuals can phone in and not give their name but identify if they believe there is alcohol coming into the communities. That has been a valuable tool and the RCMP continue to promote that, that 1-800 number, so that individuals can call.
It doesn’t always necessarily result in bootlegging charges, because if you are apprehended with booze, it wouldn’t actually fall under bootlegging. You actually have to be arrested during the act of bootlegging to be charged with bootlegging, but we are getting people with possession. I have shared with Members a significant number of photos that have come in over the last year, where the RCMP has been able to get out there with tips from communities and stop the alcohol from coming in. A lot still needs to be done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I do agree a lot more needs to be done in this area. With the RCMP staff and with the community program planning, community plans, is the RCMP trained on the Mental Health Act and the provisions in the Mental Health Act when dealing with clients that might be under the influence? Are they trained fully and understand the provisions where they can have somebody possibly admitted under the Mental Health Act that might be dangerous to themselves or to others? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I know that Members are aware of the Mental Health Act. As far as their specific training, I can’t say, but I will confirm to get that information for the Member. Thank you.
Continuing with working with the RCMP in terms of going into the schools and into the communities, I know the RCMP has a successful DARE program. Are there any other types of campaigns or teachings or education that the RCMP can do, not only in the school setting – I believe that’s only for Grade 5 students – but outside of just the Grade 5 classroom, is there something that the RCMP can do in the community in terms of education or some promotion and prevention in terms of bootlegging and drug and alcohol use? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier, every community has their own individual community policing plan and some communities have put more attention on that exact topic than others. Regardless, it is something that’s important. I know that RCMP officers from across the Territories have been working with youth on many different levels. We have the DARE program, as the Member mentioned. I also know that in many communities, the communities themselves, the youth themselves have engaged with the RCMP on the Not Us! campaign and other campaigns, which is about education, awareness and working with the youth to help them begin that abstention from alcohol and drugs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad the Minister brought up the Not Us! campaign because that was my final question. I know there is a lot of funding out there for communities to access the Not Us! campaign. Some use it very wisely and very effectively; others use it in other areas that might not be as effective in getting to the problem of dealing with the drug dealers or the bootleggers.
Would the Minister commit to possibly looking at a stronger campaign that focuses on the bootleggers that access our small communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I understand the Member’s point. Just for the record, the program is a program by the community for the community, designed for the youth to meet the needs that they’ve identified. I think it is really important to empower the youth to design their own program, but we are certainly willing to provide them with examples from other communities where it is actually hitting the exact topic that the Member is talking about. We would like to leave it up to the communities and to the youth in those communities to set their own priorities as to how they want to use these dollars to promote avoiding alcohol and drugs and how they want to address it. We are happy to share the information, but we would like to leave it up to the community youth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government is a big government. It’s got lots of people and lots of money. It’s a big system that operates on a daily basis. Of course, its mission is to deliver programs and services to people. At this point, people are asking for help in trying to take that first step in admitting they do have a problem and they want to sober up. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. What immediate steps is the department taking to support established on-the-land programs? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has approved three proposals for on the land. We are going to treat them as pilots so we can do an evaluation of those. That will give us good groundwork needed to work with communities to develop further on-the-land treatment programs. Thank you.
It seems the Minister has stated this is in its infancy stage of trying to flush out a framework in terms of how this will work. How will the Department of Health and Social Services see itself involved in on-the-land programs? Mahsi.
