Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just following up to my Member’s statement earlier, and there are some really good Ministers’ statements here as well. One was from Justice in terms of using an elder in some of our work that we’re going to be doing in the traditional healing and enlisting Aboriginal elders in the aspects of their cultures and traditions, focusing on traditional healing in the corrections facility. Also, when I mentioned that meeting that we had in Inuvik, we had discussions of the regional wellness councils, and elders who were there spoke up and said that they would really love to be on those regional councils, as well, but they had a lot of concerns, and I guess, just the whole aspect of having that regional meeting.
I’d like to ask the Minister responsible for Seniors, what is his department doing to create more regional meetings like this throughout the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have a fairly positive working relationship with the NWT Seniors’ Society and we have provided funding for some meetings and some of the functions that they’re undertaking.
With respect to facilitating the exact type of meeting that the Member is talking about, I will talk to the department to find out where we are with those kinds of supports and I will get back to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In terms of an action plan, I know there is a Seniors’ Handbook that’s out in the communities. Can I ask the Minister, is there an action plan for seniors? As he heard here today, there are housing issues and even issues in terms of long-term care facilities and beds. Is there an action plan for our senior population over the next five, the next 10 years? One of my colleagues mentioned the increased population, you know, five years from now, 11 years from now, even further down the road. Is there an action plan to address some of these issues moving forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We don’t have an action plan per se. What we do have is Our Elders: Our Communities framework which focuses on seven different priority areas: healthy and active aging; home and community care services; integrated and coordinated services across the continuum; getting people to work together, as the Member has described; caregiver supports; elder-responsive communities is another initiative that we’re working on with communities and partners; and ensuring that there’s sustainable best practices available for all of the care providers and residents of the Northwest Territories.
We are also working on the development of an NWT Continuing Care Service Delivery Action Plan, which will focus on facilities and where we need to be building facilities, recognizing the large increase of seniors we are going to be seeing over the next number of years. This project is going to help us figure out when, where and how to build facilities to meet those needs. So, there are a number of different things happening, Mr. Speaker.
My experience that I had at the meeting over the summer, just being in attendance – I wasn’t there for all the three days, but I sat in and listened to some of the discussions – and the passion and concern of these elders speaking up and not really having the confidence. Within government and other areas of leadership, something needs to be done so that with the Continuing Care Action Plan that the Minister is discussing, would he welcome some of the senior populations from the regions to sit in on the discussion of an action plan to help to address the real issues in the small communities and at the regional level? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I’ve indicated previously, we have a really positive working relationship with the NWT Seniors’ Society, who represents seniors from across the Northwest Territories and the board actually has representatives from people from across the Territories. We work closely with them and are always seeking their input and guidance. I am happy to meet with seniors’ societies across the Northwest Territories to get their input. The services and programs we are talking about are ultimately for them and it’s important to make sure they are engaged. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we come to an end in the 17th Legislative Assembly, would the Minister responsible ensure that this is a priority of the 18th Assembly? Would he commit that our seniors’ issues, such as elder abuse, housing and services in some of the small communities are a priority in the 18th Assembly so when the new government comes in, they can hit the road running and address some of the issues our elders are dealing with? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This is obviously an incredibly important issue in the Northwest Territories, especially recognizing the rate in which our seniors populations are increasing. It’s something I have asked to be included on the Cabinet’s transition document so it is brought forward to the future government. If I’m fortunate enough to be back, whether I’m on that side of the House or on this side of the House, it’s still a priority for me and would continue to be a priority for me. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
