Julian Morse

Thank you, Mr. Chair, appreciate it. And so I just wanted to kind of just to wrap up my comments on the long-term care. I mean, there were some things that really stood out to me, and I dug into this one a fair bit, looked at the 2015 report, and I would just note that, you know, a few of the thing that were pointed out in the report is that if you increase the number of a service, like long-term care, it can ultimately increase the demand for the service, interestingly, and that you can induce demand. And a point that I think is really important to note too is that, you know, the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that pursuant to Rule 9.4(5)(a), the Government of the Northwest Territories table a comprehensive response to Committee Report 19-20(1), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Statutory Review of the Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act, including all recommendations, within 120 days or at the earliest opportunity subsequent to the passage of 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you for that reminder. I guess, finally, I really appreciate the Minister kind of clarifying that the planning process for the two other facilities that are referenced there in Simpson and Smith will have the opportunity to kind of benefit from the 2025 update. So I appreciate that.

So the last question is in the 2015 long-term care program review, the recommendations that it made spoke to funding to private facilities for construction of more units. I know that's something I saw in the -- in this -- that was something that was done in Hay River in the past, but...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Statutory Review of the Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Committee Report 19-20(1), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Statutory Review of the Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Implementation Act, be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. So in that process, is it going to be possible for reassessment of the planning for this facility in considering the assessment of the projections that the department is going to be undertaking? So I guess what I'm asking in plain words is are we ensuring that the facility is right size for the demand prior to moving forward with construction?

Okay, thank you. So by my calculations -- and I'm going to be speaking about a couple of different reports here. So we did a long-term care review in 2015 which kind of initiated the process of planning for these facilities, updated that review in 2020, which found that the 2015 review had overestimated what the demand is going to be. And so based on these new numbers, the first year that they projected demand for was 2024. And I would just note in Hay River, they estimated there was going to be 35, a demand of 35; in Fort Simpson, they estimated there was going to be a demand of 25; in Fort...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, first, kind of a preliminary question. What is our current total number of occupied long-term care beds in Hay River, Fort Simpson, and Fort Smith, and what is the current waitlist in each of those communities? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to follow up a little bit further on the questions I asked earlier. I was wondering if the Minister of ECC would commit to a year for getting this process done, so having target the amendments to the waters regs by the October session of 2025. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister able to give us any kind of a timeline? I think the idea with the recommendation from all these different entities for targeted amendments is that we get them done quickly, that this could be a quick win for the department and a quick win for regulatory fairness and certainty in the territory. So can the Minister give us a timeline for when they expect the targeted amendments to be concluded? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Committee Report 20-20(1), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on Committee's Initiation of the 10-year Review of the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act, be received and adopted by the Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.