Shane Thompson

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not asking just for the Nahendeh riding and the Deh Cho. I totally understand that. My biggest issue, though, is we are starting to see a huge number of children being diagnosed with autism, and it is a lot of work. I mean, I know down south they actually have a person who works one-on-one with the child, whereas we have classroom assistants and people out there. I applaud the department for providing this service. I think it's a great first step. However, we need to get more positions in the communities or regional centres, anyway, that we can spread out the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank Ms. Mathison. Now I understand the better picture. It is very clear, because in the new auditing process, we need to show that as a debt. I greatly appreciate that. When will we start to see some savings? Because right now my understanding is that we're $92 million projected by the end of this fiscal year. When will we start seeing savings with this transformation? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I have to congratulate the department for doing this. I think it is a very good, positive step. So what are the plans for doing this? Is this going to be regionalized, or is this going to be based out of Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I guess I'm just looking at the audited financial statements. It says it's about $67.1 million in 2017. Where are we getting the information? Is the financial audited statements where we should be getting the information, or does the department have different numbers according to the books? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In regards to the principle of the bill, I guess the first thing that comes to mind is: where are we going to sell this product? Right now, we are putting it into the liquor stores, but that gives the liquor stores a step up. Who is going to cover these costs to do the renovations? The liquor stores that I've talked to, they have concerns about that, which then has an impact on the businesses, as well. I am concerned that we haven't reached out to the businesses that have already done the work to get licensing to grow the product. We haven't talked to them, nor have we...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. When we talk about the deficits from amalgamation and that, it being a large amount, so is this deficit associated with Health and Social Services, the territorial Health and Social Services authority, or is this going to be something that is in our deficit? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Child and youth mental health workers here. This is the section. Can the Minister provide us with an update on what's happening with these positions for the Deh Cho and the Tlicho please? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to have to rebut that. I have been in the Northwest Territories all my life. Yes, it is 1.3 million great square kilometres, 33 communities. The day I am talking about, the plane went from Edmonton to Fort Simpson to Inuvik to Yellowknife. It hit four communities. Again, this airline company or the contractor didn't provide the service that was much needed.

I realize sending patient escorts out earlier than required might not be the best solution. I have heard it before about the potential appointments being cancelled, capacity issues with boarding homes, et...

I appreciate that, and I thank you very much. Kakisa, though, is in the Deh Cho, and I think the member from Deh Cho might get mad at me if I try to take that community away. My next question, and I do not know if this is the area, here is the cessation planning regarding smoking and that. I heard the Minister talk about a new program that they are implementing right now, so is this the area that we talk about this program right here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the Minister for his answer. I realize we live in the Northwest Territories, but, again, if a contractor is not providing the services, we need to make sure we do deal with that. Has the department approached the contractor or have they approached the Department of Infrastructure to help get this situation fixed?