Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let us move a little further on down Ingraham Trail. I note that Powder Point is looking to get some work done to expand it, convert it into a day use area, which I am happy to see.
I just want to go to Cameron Falls for a moment. I think last year, in last year's capital plan, we allocated some funds to expanding the parking lot, and some other things that we were going to do at the Cameron Falls area. It was not really what we would call a day use area, because most people just simply trek into the falls themselves.
I was out there this year, and I did not see any work undertaken in terms of expanding the parking lot. In fact, it was so busy, and there were so many vehicles there, that I ended up having to park out on the highway. I am just wondering: where are we with the commitment to expanding the parking lot at Cameron Falls? Is the work still under way? Was that last year's budget? Do we have any money in this year's budget for it? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, we are still continuing to work on Cameron Falls. What happened was there was a pricing issue on the RFP, or tender, for that facility. That money has been carried over into this year, and we are continuing to work with the Department of Infrastructure on that, trying to move that project forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Just for clarification. I don't want to belabour the point. When the Minister refers to the RFP or the public tender being over-priced, is this just a case of a simple competition that everybody came in over price, or did we not have the appropriate engineer estimates? Maybe if the Minister could elaborate on why this would have come in over-priced. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will have to get back to the department to find out those details. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Nothing further in this section. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Page 39, Industry, Tourism and Investment, tourism and parks, infrastructure investment, $3,773,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Please turn back to page 37, Industry, Tourism and Investment, total capital estimate, $3,773,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does committee agree this concludes our consideration of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you, Minister. Thank you to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the Chamber, and we will take a five minute recess. Thank you.
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I will call the Committee of the Whole back to order. I see Mr. Testart wants my attention. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider the Department of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. We were agreed to consider Finance, but now Mr. Testart would like committee to consider Health and Social Services at this time. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will consider Health and Social Services. It begins on page 32 in the capital estimates. Would the Minister of Health like to bring any witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, please.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With me today is Derek Elkin on my right. He is the assistant deputy minister of corporate services. On my left is Perry Heath, who is the director of infrastructure planning.
Thank you, Minister. Would you introduce your witnesses more slowly for the record.
Come on. Yes, Mr. Chair. I have two people with me today. On my right is Derek Elkin, who is the assistant deputy minister of corporate services. On my left is Perry Heath, who is the director of infrastructure planning.
Thank you, Minister. I will open the floor to general comments. First I have Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I see some new health centres coming into some of the communities here, replacements. I did hear rumours they were going to be replacing the one in Tsiigehtchic.
---Laughter
You know, somebody was telling me that this summer here. I said that is the first I have heard of it, but I would be sure to bring it up here and hopefully get some sort of commitment, as that building is almost as old as I am. It is getting up there.
Also, with extended care, we do have a couple of facilities, one in Aklavik right now, the new Joe Greenland Centre, and hopefully within the year here we will have one in Fort McPherson that is similar. I know it is under Housing, but it is sort of a partnership, I believe, with Health, because some of the care that is being provided should be under Health anyway. I know the community of Tsiigehtchic is very interested, as well, in a similar type of unit. They want to try to keep the elders in their homes as long as they can, and especially if they have a caretaker; that would make things a lot easier. That is it for now. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister, you may respond.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Tsiigehtchic is in the 20-year plan, but it is quite a ways out. It is not something that is contemplated in the life of this Legislative Assembly, but it is something that has always been monitored. We review the infrastructure that we have regularly and make sure that it is meeting our needs from a program point of view, and currently, Tsiigehtchic is meeting those needs. Yes, it is in the 20-year plan, but a long way off.
The Member is correct that the two buildings he is referencing are Housing Corporation facilities. They are independent living units for seniors, and that really ties in nicely with the Continuing Care Action Plan, where we want to support our residents to stay in their homes and, if they cannot stay in their homes, stay in their communities for as long as possible.
I really do applaud the Housing Corporation, who in the design of the independent living units they have been building them in the last couple of years, they have actually left program space in those facilities so that we can work with residents on day programs, but also have our home support staff come in and provide supports to help our residents age in place, to keep them out of long-term care facilities as long as possible. All science, all evidence demonstrates clearly that keeping people in their homes, in their communities, will benefit residents from a health perspective, but also from just a quality of life perspective as well.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is too bad it is so far away, a major retrofit or replacement, because there has really not much been done to the health centre all the time that I have been here. I know over the last two years they have worked on the pilings twice, now. That is not a good sign. Hopefully it lasts another couple of years, but we cannot keep doing that to these units. They have to be built to standard. I am sure the Minister will say that the blocking are up to standards, but if they are not maintained on a monthly basis, really a lot of the pilings are not doing very much. The blocking there has got to be maintained as much as possible.
There is also, as I mentioned in one of my statements here not long ago, the need for a vehicle in the community. It would be nice to have that in the next capital plan, but in the interim the community does need something to help out, especially with the elders' programs. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Would the Minister like to respond?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I do take the Member's point about regular maintenance, and that is something that we obviously do try to keep on top of to make sure our buildings last as long as possible and that we are able to provide highquality services in those facilities. We will certainly continue to monitor all of our facilities. With respect to a vehicle, the Member did raise some questions in the House earlier this week, and it is not in this capital plan, but I did indicate we would look at it to see what, if any, opportunities exist, especially in light of the liability questions that the Member did raise.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Blake.
It sounded like the Minister had some positive news to update me on that, hopefully a handy van or something that would make access for elders a little easier. As our elders get up there in age, just to drive a couple of kilometers down the Water Lake Road, you know, that sure brings life to them, and if we can do that for them, I am sure they would appreciate it. A lot of times, our elders do not get a chance to even go outside the community boundary. It is unhealthy, and we need to ensure that we do as much as we can to give them a good life. Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is all I have.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Big announcements from the Minister?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. No big announcement from the Minister, other than I will live up to the commitment that I already made to the Member in the House, which is we will explore every avenue to see what, if anything, we can do to provide those supports. Once again, the Member did raise a significant number of liability issues. That is clearly a concern, and that will be considered as we look at this.
Thank you, Minister. Next, I have Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I guess my first question is we have heard some concerns, and maybe the Minister can alleviate some of the concerns out there with the new Yellowknife hospital being built, with the insulation. Has that been a concern that people should be aware of, with this insulation being exposed to all this weather out there? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am probably not the best person to ask that. I am the client in this particular situation. I really cannot speak to the technical requirements around building or how they are building the buildings. Sorry.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.
I guess I can save that for the Minister of Infrastructure. In regards to the health centre replacement, the new level A health centre, is there a station being scheduled for Jean Marie? I guess what I am looking for is: how can we work with the community so that they can actually go get the financing to build this facility and lease it back to the government? We had some struggles with Sambaa K’e, and we have had to forego that arrangement, so what arrangements do we need to do to make that happen? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Jean Marie health station is a future priority. It is not actually contained in this capital project or this capital budget. However, as we were with Sambaa K’e and it did not work out, we are certainly open to other methods of procurement, including the possibility of the community owning the building and then leasing it back to us. Our current relationship in the community is they own the building, we rent the building. We are open to that, but we would certainly need a building built to certain specifications and standards to meet the needs of our health programming. I think there is lots of time for conversation on that one because it is not in the 20182019 capital plan.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess I am probably going to have to disagree with him. I understand it is not the 20182019 capital plan, but we need to help get this community build capacity, and the quicker we start talking with them, the Department of Infrastructure and the Department of Health and Social Services, talking to the community and start working with them. Will the Minister make a commitment to work with the Minister for Infrastructure to get their regional staff in there so we can start working on this so that they can build a health centre that is to the code that we need to? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.
