Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister responsible for Seniors. In terms of the question to the former Minister responsible for Seniors in July 2007, what I was asking for is a one stop shop for seniors where they would have a place to go to be helped by the government in terms of all the services and programs they are eligible for.
I want to ask the Minister again: in terms of her role, in terms of her working with the NWT Seniors Society and seniors at large and the vision for seniors, could she see her way in terms of helping find a coordinated approach? The need is for seniors at the community level to go to one place where they can have someone there dedicated for the day to look at bills, invoices, provide services, applications instead of going to different locations. Could the Minister look at bringing forward a plan? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Seniors, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do understand the Member’s need that I do what he is asking me to do, and I will undertake to see what the feasibility of that is and get back to the Member.
Mr. Speaker, I would really like to work with the Minister responsible for Seniors on this. There’s a very valuable opportunity in working with seniors and putting them at a level where we are taking care of them and showing the community that we are taking care of them.
Can I ask the Minister in terms of the involvement of Regular Members or myself, would we have some options to look at some of these areas that we could work on together?
Mr. Speaker, there are lots of issues that we need to work on with respect to the needs of seniors, one of the most pressing being expanding services for seniors in senior centres. The Member for Tu Nedhe has been asking from day one about enhancing services in the Great Elders Centre. The Member for Mackenzie Delta is looking to replace or to refurbish the elder centre in Aklavik. I know that the Member for Sahtu…. There’s an elders’ facility in Délînê that could always use more programming.
So I’m saying that if we have extra money, I think the focus should be on enhancing services. I understand it’s more convenient to go to one place, but if the programs are not there, going to one place is not going to be helpful. I think we need to balance between enhancing services for seniors and making it more efficient.
I have made a commitment to the Member that I will look into this and will have some kind of paper for us to discuss. I’ll be happy to take it to the Standing Committee on Social Programs or any Members on that side to look at it.
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister commit to a time and date as to when we can expect some discussion paper so we could have some input before it circulates through the various committees and to Cabinet for some type of recommendation?
I could have a discussion paper prepared in time for the next business plan review, which is scheduled to be at the end of November.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. A final short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for that commitment. Could the Minister commit herself to also looking at initiatives such as the Strategic Initiative Committee on Refocusing Government and various options to again work with boards and agencies on how to deliver services like this to our community members, especially seniors?
I will consult with colleagues on the Strategic Initiative Committee on Refocusing Government, and we’ll see if we can incorporate that into the discussion paper. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Oral Questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
