Thank you Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, with me today on my right is the assistant deputy minister of corporate services, Derek Elkin, and on my left, the director of infrastructure planning, Perry Heath.
Thank you, Minister. I will open the floor to general comments. We have a few MLAs who have not spoken to the department with general comments. Would anyone like to make general comments? Mr. Nakimayak.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, looking at the plans, it is good to see that the long-term care facilities are getting a boost in beds and taking care of our elders. The Minister mentioned a few times during the session that aging in place is also important. I would just like to point out one of my communities, Ulukhaktok, in particular. That community holds a lot of culture; two different languages, two different dialects, and it is important for elders to remain in the community to continue to blend with the youth and the other community members. I believe, next year, I think it is important to start to look at facilities for elders in the communities as we move ahead. Other than that, I do not really have much else to say. That is it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Nakimayak. Would you like to respond, Minister?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, similar to questions that were raised yesterday, when it comes to long-term care facilities, those are level 3/4 facilities for individuals who are no longer to live independently and have medical issues that need to be addressed in a 24/7 facility. Given the model, we are not looking to develop those in smaller communities, but rather communities where we do have medical practitioner positions on site and where there is a greater degree of care available given the acuity of these patients. We absolutely without question support aging in place. We want to keep our people in their homes and in their communities for as long as possible.
We do not have money in the Health and Social Services capital budget for independent living units, but the Housing Corporation has been very creative over the last number of years and they have been a great partner in the design of these independent living units where we could actually incorporate programs based on other things.
I cannot remember what the status of different long-term care facilities in the Nunakput riding are, but I am sure the Minister of Housing can certainly give you an update on that.
Thank you, Minister. Anything further? I see nothing further from Mr. Nakimayak. Anyone else with general comments? Mr. McNeely.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I look forward to going through the capital plans for this department as noted here. There is a new facility going up in the riding of the Sahtu in particular, in the community of Tulita. As we know, Tulita has their encounters with varmints running around the property, and in order to attract new personnel, and preferably long-term employees of the department, facing the challenges like any other small community has, with limitations, including the high cost of living of groceries, for example. A new piece of property would really enhance the attraction of professional people in that area. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Does the Minister have any comments for that?
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the Member's comments. The community health centre in Tulita is certainly one that definitely needs to be replaced. There has been a lot of debate in this House about the status of that building, both in this Assembly and the previous Assembly, with things like mice and other critters, if you will, in the facility, and the challenges that has for our staff and for the community.
We are excited to move forward with that facility. What we are looking at, obviously, is to get some work done in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Hopefully, if everything works out the way we were hoping, we might see some supplies rolling in the winter road in 2019.
Thank you, Minister. Nothing further from Mr. McNeely. Mr. McNeely.
Thank you for the allowance, Mr. Chair. I just want to make a comment that I look forward to working with both departments of Public Works and Services, or a DOY now on the end of department, to try and merge some input from the community on the cultural design of the appearance of the building so it fits with the community leadership's input into the image of the building, not necessarily the technical side of the interior where it is more to meet health standards. I am thinking the outside definitely would be of interest to the community, to have some cultural features of the building. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. McNeely. Would you like to respond, Minister?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Member is right. When it comes to some of the program space and the technical requirements to meet things like code and program design and infection control, those are things that I think do need to be done by the experts who are aware of those codes and those standards that we have to apply on all health stations. When it comes to getting input into some of the components the Member is referring to, some of the cultural components and maybe some of the aesthetics of the building, we really do rely on the regional wellness councils to provide us with advice and guidance. The regional wellness council is made up of residents from across the entire region. They are a great resource, and they are from different communities. I do believe we have a representative from Tulita, so we are really looking forward to getting input from them, and having them engage and collect information for the residents as well.
Thank you, Minister. Any further general comments? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Not so much a general comment. It is on page 32. I see that the capital budget for the department jumps around quite a bit. In 2016-2017, the actuals were $34.8 million. Last year, the original estimate was $13.1 million, and it ended up being $45.6 million. This year, it is about $14 million. What is going on with the expenditures from the department? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Heath.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The budgets are reflective of carry-overs and work not getting done, and it shows up as previous expenditures.
Thank you, Mr. Heath. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I will just pick 2017-2018. To go from $13.1 million to $45.6 million in terms of the revised estimates, that is a pretty big jump. Are we just not planning facilities very well, or contractors are not building things on time? What is going on? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Heath.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Department of Health works really closely with its partners, the Department of Infrastructure, and plans jobs as accurately as possible. We do not necessarily have a whole lot of control over contractors and their determining processes and how they schedule things, and there are always eventualities and realities of living in the Northwest Territories that impact projects, and we struggle to and try our best to plan projects as accurately as possible, but often, there are things beyond our control. It happened in implementation that affects our carry-overs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Heath. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the answer from the department. Can you just maybe give me two or three examples of large carry-overs, then, for 2017-2018? I know I might be jumping the gun in terms of the public accounts, but what were just two or three of the big carryover items that did not get done? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, all O'Reilly. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I cannot remember at what point in the schedule the Department of Finance will bring forward supplementals identifying when carryovers are required and when carry-overs are needed, but that is something that does come through this House. I cannot remember off the top of my head what the specifics of the last carry-over were, but we will look at the previous financial documents and provide the Member with a list of some of the carryovers from the last budget.
Thank you, Minister. Nothing further from Mr. O'Reilly. Having no one further on my list, we can delve into consideration of the department. We will defer the departmental total until after the activity summaries, the first of which can be found on page 33, with an associated information item on page 34. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page 33, we show the ongoing capital investment with regard to the public private partnerships, and, of course, we know that that is the Stanton Renewal Project. I guess my first question would be: we see a number of years that we have contributed to the capital project. How many more years are we expecting that? When will we actually be ending that and transitioning into the, call it, the operating and maintenance agreement portion of that project? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, for the details on when the project is intended to be substantially complete, at which point we would begin our process of verifying that the equipment is appropriate for health needs and those types of things, I believe it is 2019. However, Mr. Elkin has the more specific detail, so I will go to him for that.
Thank you, Minister. The Minister has indicated that Mr. Elkin will take that. Mr. Elkin.
Thank you. The project is targeted to have its essential completion in November-December 2018, at which point we will begin the approximately six-month process of planning to move in. We are targeting May-June as our target for our opening, day one. As the Minister said, then the annual payment for the remainder of the life of the agreement would kick in at that point.
Thank you. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Maybe, because there are still some residents in my riding, some constituents, who are still asking questions about the project, if you do not mind I am going to get into a line of questioning. If it is technical at all in nature, just let me know, and it might be something I might have to save for the Department of Infrastructure later.
These are significant funds. It is going to be a long-term arrangement. I am wondering if you can elaborate a little bit more on who this actual partner is, the Boreal Health Partnership, and maybe explain for us how they were selected. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister. The Minister has directed us to Mr. Elkin. Mr. Elkin.
Thank you. We arrived at the BHP, Boreal Health Partnership, and I will pull together the details of the consortium. Initially, we went out for a request for qualifications to get a short list of potential proponents who had both the technical and financial capability to undertake a project of this size. Then from there we narrowed it down to three proponents over a year-long process. We went through a detailed RFP process, working closely through a series of incremental design developments with each of the three proponents. At the end of that process, we had an evaluation which resulted in the project being awarded to BHP, of the three proponents. That was in August of 2016; August 6, 2016. I know we have details on the proponent, BHP consortium, but I will have to find that and then get back to you on that.
Thank you. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the reply. I will note and I have directed many people in the past to the Stanton Renewal Project website that has also been very informative. However, for the purposes of getting some stuff on the record in this House, I am asking some of these ongoing concerns today. Just quickly, as far as the department is concerned, this budget so far is on time and on budget? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
That is correct, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. If the project was to for any reason go over-budget or there were delays, what do we have built in for accountability? Who would be responsible? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Elkin.
Thank you. I can give you an overview of the agreement, and then, also, the Department of Finance would have more specific details on the agreement. We entered into the agreement with BHP. It is called a partnership agreement, PA, and that outlines the specific relationship between us and them, both on the correction and then on the 30year arrangement, as well. There are specific terms in the agreement that have to be met on both sides. If there is any deviation, then we will go back to the agreement, both on timing or on deliverables. Actually, the agreement is posted on the Stanton Renewal Project website, as well, and it goes into great detail around how we would go through a resolution process. Then, if still at that point we could not resolve any disagreements around timing or payment, there are terms in the agreement that outline the next steps and processes, as well, so it is very structured, detailed, and outlined in the agreement.
Thank you, Mr. Elkin. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the explanation. I want to get into a little about jobs and staffing. There have been concerns that have been raised in the past that, through a partnership like this, there may be a potential for loss of jobs. Maybe I will start with simply asking: do we know how many people are currently employed out at the current operating hospital? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Currently at Stanton, it is around 582 employees, but we are constantly staffing, people are constantly retiring and going to other jobs, so it is always fluctuating, but it is hovering around 580. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for the reply. Looking at the transition, moving into the new facility, is it anticipated that that number will change at all, whether it is a plus or minus? Could I get a comment to that effect? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister Abernethy.
