Good afternoon, colleagues. Before we start today I’d really like to wish a happy birthday to one of my elders back in my home community of Tuktoyaktuk, Persis Gruben. Her birthday is on Sunday, the 20th, and she’s 95 years old.
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I was speaking with her daughter-in-law last night, and in this day and age for our elders to live this long is a blessing to us. I’m sure she’s seen many changes in her lifetime from dog team to trucks to planes, from telephones to cell phones and computers. Just yesterday she was on FaceTime with her daughter-in-law and she couldn’t believe the technology.
Her wealth of knowledge about the land, our culture and traditions is invaluable, as well as our Inuvialuktun language. She always tells her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and even myself and anybody she talks to, respect the land and to respect each other.
Persis still lives and maintains her own home in Tuk today and is sharp as a whip. Her irreplaceable knowledge of values will benefit all our generations. We truly have a gem. I’d like to wish her many more years to come and good health and happiness. Have a good birthday party in Tuk on Sunday. I am unable to attend, but have a good birthday party. I wish I was there.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to update Members on our fiscal situation and discuss some of the things we are looking forward to in the near-term.
Two years ago this Assembly created a plan to restore fiscal balance after years of stimulus spending and deficits, and to provide resources
required to tackle our $3 billion infrastructure deficit. I am happy to report today that the plan is on track. We have constrained spending growth, reduced short-term borrowing, and achieved an increase in our borrowing limit. As a result, we have kept our promise made in February’s budget to increase capital investment by $50 million in each of 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Our fiscal situation is basically unchanged from the 2013-14 budget. However, the global economy remains fragile and its recovery from the recession is slow and uneven. Therefore, we continue to closely monitor revenues and expenditures to ensure we achieve our fiscal targets. Our efforts to reallocate money to fund new initiatives and make all our programs more efficient and effective mean that we are on track to generate required surpluses in 2013-14 and for the remainder of this Assembly so that we may begin to address our infrastructure deficit.
Our main fiscal challenge continues to be to hold the line on expenditure growth so we can make infrastructure investments that can transform our economy by lowering costs for residents and businesses in remote communities and opening corridors to previously inaccessible markets and resources. Our medium-term economic growth will depend on transformational investments such as the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic link and the Mackenzie Valley Highway.
Our ability to fund infrastructure investment is built on a foundation of fiscal sustainability outlined in our Fiscal Responsibility Policy. Using operating surpluses to help pay for infrastructure investment is instrumental in keeping debt levels sustainable and contributes significantly to our Aa1 credit rating. Fiscal sustainability also opens opportunities to take advantage of federal partnership in building infrastructure through the new Building Canada Plan expected to be announced in the next fiscal year.
Looking forward, April 1, 2014, marks the beginning of the last major transfer of responsibility to our government as we embark on new responsibilities managing the lands, waters and resources of our territory. The Territorial Formula Financing Grant will increase by $67.3 million to help us fund these responsibilities. Work is underway to ensure those resources are allocated appropriately to allow us to maintain high standards of program delivery in these new areas of responsibility.
As well, beginning next year Northerners will, for the first time, benefit directly from resource revenues. We have included preliminary resource revenues forecasts in the fiscal framework, and continue to investigate the sensitivity around these forecasts. However, we will not receive the majority of the new resource revenues until 2015 because of the timing of royalty collections. The timing of resource revenues combined with their sensitivity to commodity prices mean that we have to be prudent in our fiscal planning to ensure we are not overcommitting a volatile revenue source.
Continuing the 17th Assembly’s commitment to seek Northerners’ opinions and consensus on how to build our collective future, the Department of Finance has launched discussions on fiscal priorities and management of resource revenues. This follows our budget dialogue sessions last year to seek Northerners’ views on how to achieve our goal of living within our means. Delivering on last year’s promise, we are reporting back on what we heard, what we have done with what we heard, and where we are headed. Last year’s budget made great strides investing in the priorities we heard, and we stay committed to incorporating Northerners’ views as we build next year’s budget.
Like last year, we are taking this year’s budget dialogue to the regions by visiting all of the regional centres, bringing in representatives from the other communities and inviting people to write in. We are also asking Northwest Territories residents to tell us what they think about our plan for a resource revenue legacy built on infrastructure investments, reducing the debt burden, and permanent savings in the Heritage Fund, as well as our approximately $1.6 billion budget. We are asking Northerners how they see these investments being made. The approach to managing resource revenues we develop in the coming months will be determined by what we hear about the kind of future Northerners want for themselves, their children and grandchildren. I look forward to everyone’s participation in this very important conversation.
Devolution does not change the Government of the Northwest Territories’ fiscal strategy to generate surpluses to ensure infrastructure is financed responsibly and sustainably. While resource revenues provide added fiscal flexibility in infrastructure investment and debt management, they will not be used to fund operating expenditures. We will continue our emphasis on disciplined spending to ensure we remain fiscally sustainable.
Prudent planning in the early days of this Assembly has enabled us to protect programs and services while accumulating resources needed to begin to address our infrastructure deficit. At this, the halfway point of the 17th Legislative Assembly, we remain committed to this path of fiscal sustainability that ensures investments in today and tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mr. Speaker, the department continues to improve income security programs and services based on a report from the Auditor General in March 2013. We received valuable feedback from the Standing Committee on Government Operations in June 2013. As we move forward with effective, efficient government, client service is at the forefront of our minds.
Mr. Speaker, to date the department has made a number of improvements based on the Auditor General’s report, recommendations from standing committee, and on actions identified and planned through our own review.
We have improved training and communication with front-line staff by producing quarterly newsletters with policy clarifications, instructions, reminders and information. We are using web-based technology to present training sessions, producing new plain language policy manuals, and hiring a trainer with expert program delivery knowledge. We will continue our efforts by ensuring that all client services officers participate in Mental Health First Aid training, and attend competency-based and disability sensitivity training.
A healthy, educated northern workforce is our future. We have streamlined the Child Care Benefit, and improved payment times to support parents to stay employed. We have enhanced the Senior Home Heating Subsidy Program. We have also increased benefits to students attending post-secondary education, with an additional increase for students with disabilities. We are committed to the 17th Assembly’s priority of increasing employment opportunities where they are most needed, by encouraging people to enter and remain in the workforce.
One of the most important pieces of work we are developing is a standard practice for integrating services with other departments. This will directly support and streamline services for those clients that require assistance from various government departments. Many clients live with complex challenges like disabilities that need to be considered as we serve their needs.
Our regional managers now have an audit tool and a file review process. We completed five community compliance audits last year and five to date for this fiscal year. We are completing the overpayment project to recover costs and auditing 10 percent of student financial assistance files each year. We need to make sure that our clients are getting the right level of support.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to thoroughly implementing our program improvements. Some can be done quickly and others will take time. We are ensuring our programs are transparent, accountable, evaluated, and provide valuable reporting that helps us make continual improvements. We are confident that we are on the right path.
I look forward to providing the House with continued updates on the progress we make on income security programs. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For many years the community of Tsiigehtchic has been asking for a full-time nurse. The request made it into the Health and Social Services 2010-2011 Business Plan; however, the Minister of Health reneged on that commitment.
Also in this House, in February of 2013 another promise was made, but we are still awaiting action, Mr. Speaker.
The lack of housing has been mentioned as a barrier but this is no longer a problem, for the community has set aside housing specifically for a nurse.
Imagine the feeling of insecurity not to have a health care practitioner close by. Imagine having to travel to Inuvik and, in the process, spending precious income on travel, meals and accommodations. Worse still, imagine forgoing treatment altogether because you can’t afford to travel. These are the realities in Tsiigehtchic. Honestly, it is a shameful situation. It is plain old-fashioned discrimination against people in the small communities. This government has to do better.
The Minister of Health would become famous in the Mackenzie Delta if he were to find a way to station a permanent nurse or licenced practical nurse in Tsiigehtchic. I ask the government to respond this time with a firm commitment, by weighing in the minimal financial costs against the obvious social and moral benefits.
This issue is a test of this government’s principles and priorities. If this government is serious about enhancing primary care in small communities, there will be a year-round licenced practical nurse in Tsiigehtchic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak about the Lafferty ferry in Fort Simpson. At a recent constituency meeting, constituents raised the idea that perhaps it’s time for our ferry to start opening earlier, about 6:00 a.m. It currently runs at 8:00 a.m. until midnight. I believe that’s a great idea, because in the past two years I’ve seen an increased demand for ferry services at an earlier hour.
As well, constituents have raised the idea that it will, in fact, help constituents with their travel plans for better travelling connections, so I believe the 6:00 a.m. start is a good idea.
I would like to ask the Minister of Transportation questions at the appropriate time. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a song titled “These Boots are Made for Walking.” However, I won’t do that song here.
---Laughter
The Sahtu will be idle no more. We want to work. We want to build our region. As I mentioned yesterday, the Sahtu is on the verge of making real and solid contributions to the North. We will do it and you can help, Mr. Speaker, and the Legislative Assembly can help. You can even give us a hand at building the North.
As I stated yesterday, 35 percent of families are headed by single parents in Deline. There are 26 percent of people in Colville Lake living in a house with six or more people. Fort Good Hope has 27 percent of families headed by single parents, 18 percent in Norman Wells, and 32 percent in Tulita. We have single families who are working. They need to have proper infrastructure such as daycare homes and training provided for them. Forty-two percent of people are working in Deline, 44 percent in Colville Lake.
Our people are ready to work, as I stated earlier. We need to set up some training institutes for the people in the Sahtu. Our dollar in the Sahtu doesn’t go quite as far as the dollar in Yellowknife. A hundred dollar bill doesn’t stretch as far as it does in the southern communities.
We want to work. I believe my people are ready to work if we create the opportunities for them. I call on this government to open up an investment treasure chest, invest in the Sahtu, invest in them now.
I will have further questions for the Minister later on in the Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize members of the Yellowknife Farmers Market for their very successful first season. The Farmers Market was started by two friends of the land, France Benoit, a Weledeh constituent, and Amy Lizotte. They say their idea caught on quickly, with many helpful volunteers.
The market operated in the Samba K’e Park next to the Yellowknife City Hall every Tuesday evening for 12 consecutive weeks. Over 70 vendors throughout the summer enjoyed total sales of over $140,000. Based on studies of other farmers markets in Canada, this farmers market likely contributed over half a million dollars to the Yellowknife economy.
I visited the market several times over the summer and it was a wonderful place. People had stalls selling fish, berries, birch syrup, fresh eggs from Hay River, fresh local produce, delicious home baked goods, international cuisine, and crafts. Early in the season, vendors sold out quickly, so shoppers learned to arrive promptly and vendors increased their supplies as they could.
During June start-up the city staged its summer garden parties at the same time as the Farmers Market, providing a great example of local government working with the community. Entire families came out to enjoy the festivities. Health and Social Services inspectors contributed to market success via their open communications and willingness to try something new. Their reward: a vibrant addition to our community.
Market collaborators greatly appreciated the role of ITI, who funded the NWT Farmers’ Association to bring up the president of the Ontario Farmers Market Association for a “Farmers Market 101” workshop in Yellowknife and another in Hay River, a truly sound investment.
Premier McLeod and myself, perhaps others, were invited to ring the opening bell for the market, a real honour.
What started as a small volunteer initiative has quickly become a fully functioning farmers market cooperative, and I hear that there will be a Christmas farmers market this December. We seem to have a model here that could be successful throughout the Northwest Territories.
Colleagues, please join me in offering our hearty congratulations to all involved. Here’s to next spring. I can’t wait. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to rise in the House and speak to an initiative that I’ve spoken to on many occasions, and that’s the Inuvik gas situation.
Last week there was a pretty big meeting in Inuvik where there was a lot of concern from the community about business and residential. Yesterday I spoke about eradicating poverty in the Northwest Territories, but with the situation we have going on in Inuvik right now, the operating people at or below the poverty line were having a hard time just making ends meet.
I know that we’ve had this discussion before, where we’ve said people are paying now what other people are paying in the communities and what people are paying for diesel. However, some of these people who switched to natural gas years ago, including this government, are finding that we’re making decisions based on the prices that we were thinking we were going to pay for a longer period of time. Now we’re finding the situation where plans that we’ve made in the past are affecting our financial situation now.
You just have to look at the budget for housing and the amount of money that has increased in terms of money going into housing units.
I’d just like to address that this government has been doing a lot since the situation has come up. I know they’ve been mediating between the Town of Inuvik and Inuvik Gas, and working to supplement this situation that has been really hurting the residents and the businesses of Inuvik.
I guess my next course of action, rather than always hitting the government well now, rather than the oil well or the gas well, is that we have to find ways where we can mitigate the use of the fuel consumption in Inuvik and find ways for people who have been paying high costs of living that can’t actually access some of these alternative energy sources such as biomass, creating a different type of policy. We’re having some double-income homes who want to switch over to biomass but they can’t afford that initial start-up cost.
I’m going to have questions today for the Minister of ENR about the policy, in terms of how we can get these people on the system, as well as looking at housing and how can Housing regulate the energy consumption with our housing tenants so that the energy and the gas can last a little bit longer in the community of Inuvik. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to use my statement today to talk about my community and recent happenings which have raised concerns in Yellowknife about residents’ safety in this community.
Since the spring, Yellowknife has experienced what some consider to be a rash of incidents affecting residents’ well-being. Many were identified as sexual assaults, and they’ve resulted in concern among Yellowknife constituents and, yes, fear; fear of being assaulted or accosted, fear that their homes are no longer safe, fear that we are not safe within our community, in our downtown, on our trails and in our homes. We Yellowknifers are seeing a change in our community that scares us. We are reading and hearing media reports and personal accounts which, valid or not, are scaring us.
On October 3rd my community took a step towards fighting back, a step towards reclaiming our city, towards an environment where we can all feel safe and secure. On October 3rd we held a town hall meeting, titled “A Conversation on Community Safety.” My thanks goes to GNWT Justice, who organized the meeting, and to representatives from the RCMP, the City of Yellowknife and Yellowknife Health and Social Services, who attended along with Minister Abernethy.
The meeting was an opportunity to hear Yellowknifers’ concerns and to hear what should be done to make our community safer. I was privileged to be the moderator for the evening, and I have to say how pleased I was, how proud and impressed I was with the comments of my fellow residents. They were thoughtful and full of suggestions to address the issues before us.
So what now? Will there be any action? Can Yellowknifers expect some action and, if so, when? The short answer is yes. Five groups are working together: the City, the RCMP, GNWT Justice, GNWT Health and Social Services and Yellowknife Health and Social Services. Work is underway. There will be a response in due course.
But it was made very clear by many at the town hall meeting that we just cannot wait for someone to do something to fix things. We as individuals must also be responsible and take action. We must use our public spaces, use them in a safe and calculated manner, but use them, and use them all the time. I agree with them. A populated space is a safe space, in my view.
I love my community, that’s why I’m still here some 40 years after I first got here. I want newcomers, old-timers and everybody in between to enjoy Yellowknife as I do. It’s a great place to live, even with all the recent assaults. I say get out and enjoy our city. Don’t let the few dictate how we live. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the summer the Premier told me that he’d like to be the first repeat Premier and he was thinking about running again, he told me.
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Well, you know what? After listening to the way he spoke to me yesterday, he’s certainly not going to get my support unless he pulls up his socks.
When I listened to the Premier’s responses, and I can tell you I received a number of e-mails and comments from individuals in our community; they were quite disappointed. It seems very frustrating when the Premier’s response to the Members, who have legitimate, reasonable questions about trying to solve a problem, trying to do something about a giant problem and the Premier responds by “we don’t respond to single MLAs,” it sort of begs the question: What’s the point of being here asking the government questions if they just sit there, laugh and think ideas from this side of the House are useless? That’s part of the problem. The Premier has never been on this side of the House. He’s had a cushy slide into Cabinet, an easy slide into the Premier’s seat, and he doesn’t know how hard we have to work to get ideas recognized and respected from this side of the House.
I’ll tell you, it really makes me frustrated. It makes the public frustrated. Because when we put legitimate questions on the floor, legitimate ideas that should at least see the light of day, it might not be the right idea, it might not be the best idea, but they’re good ideas and they deserve some respect. Yet he belittles it and plays coy and pretends he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. Well, if he’s happy, I’ll be happy to walk over a copy of my press release. I’d be more than pleased to walk over a copy of my Member’s statement, and if it happens to come to it, I’ll even read and walk him through it.
The only issue I’m trying to bring here today, and yesterday is about the dreams and possibilities of what we can do. We can do anything if we put our minds to it. But we have this guy over there. Let me remind the House of the Premier’s very own words in this House: “The government appreciates constructive advice from Regular Members on all matters,” but that was a little while ago. Maybe they’re just too comfortable over there and start to think that Members, when we’re raising legitimate ideas, they slough us off and don’t care.
Well, he may be a friend of the arsenic, maybe he’s a friend of status quo, maybe he’s a friend of I don’t know what, but I can tell you right now I have not given up on this idea and this idea needs to be taken to the feds and taken seriously.
Nobody in Yellowknife wants arsenic left here. We want it dealt with, Mr. Speaker, and that’s the point I’m making today. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I’m going to remind Members again with regard to the way you’re treating one another in your Members’ statements and replies. I said it yesterday, let’s be fair and work together to get the job done for the people of the Northwest Territories. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. October 14th to the 20th is Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Awareness Week. Canadians are being informed about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
About 10 percent of the population suffers from ADHD and many people never get help. Untreated, ADHD often results in failures at school or the workplace. With treatment, people can lead healthy, productive lives.
ADHD is just one of many disorders requiring specialized care. In this area the government is not doing enough. For example, long-term mental health patients, people like Allisdair Leishman, receive minimal care, while priority is given to mental health outpatients.
Little is being done to prevent or response to the devastating effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. We are still awaiting a wellness court to assist offenders with cognitive challenges such as FASD.
Another case in point is Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is rising at an alarming rate. Alberta and other jurisdictions spend upwards of $40,000 per year on every autistic child, but we have no funding earmarked for autism therapy. This is shameful, Mr. Speaker.
The Inclusive Schooling Program is one of the few main avenues for providing specialized care. Recent budget cuts tell us the government’s priorities lie elsewhere.
A growing body of evidence demonstrates that up-front investment in specialized care results in fewer resources needed down the road for health care, education, social services, courts and corrections.
ADHD Awareness Week is a time to contemplate the range of specialized care needs. For financial and moral reasons, more should be done in the area of prevention, individualized interventions, rehabilitation, school integration and in-home services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to advise the House that the newly created Northern Farm Training Institute, short form NFTI, in Hay River celebrated a successful year on September 22nd with its first ever graduating class, and I had the pleasure of attending that graduation at the Hay River Golf Course and partaking in a delectable array of locally grown and prepared food.
This innovative program was developed in response to numerous requests received from across the Northwest Territories to the Territorial Farmers’ Association that conducts sustainable gardening workshops and seminars.
Through the Northern Farm Training Institute, workshops were offered during the 2013 growing season to gardening enthusiasts and those interested in small-scale agriculture and animal husbandry businesses.
Each workshop included classroom teachings, hands-on work, all the tools needed, and great resources to give students the confidence and skills to grow their own food and to be mentors and teachers to others in their home communities who wish to do the same.
Workshops covered interesting topics such as designing and planting sustainable gardens, applying permaculture methods in cold climates, garden maintenance, food preparation and cold-climate animal care.
In total, NFTI hosted six workshops from April through September for 15 students each session from 13 different communities in the Northwest Territories. I want to congratulate the following students who received their NFTI certificate for completing all seven workshops: Jeffrey Fabian from the Hay River Reserve, Sharon Pekok from Hay River, Whitney Jason from Yellowknife, and Shelly Empey from Fort Simpson.
This program was made possible through the funding received under the Growing Forward II Program, a five-year agreement between Ottawa and the GNWT to provide $1.2 million per year to support northern agriculture.
In addition to providing expertise and hands-on experience, this funding was also used to offset the travel costs for out-of-town students so the travel would not be a barrier to their participation.
I would also like to thank the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Minister Ramsay, for his support in securing this funding. I also want to thank everyone who had a hand in making this inaugural year of this initiative a resounding success, including the folks at the Territorial Farmers’ Association, the instructors, and the many partners, farms and community-based organizations who enriched the learning experience of the students by allowing them to observe and participate in real life and cultural operations.
Mr. Speaker, I’d just like to seek unanimous consent to quickly conclude my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
In offering thanks, I cannot fail to mention Kim Rapati, Mayor Andrew Cassidy, and also, if any of you met her, the most enthusiastic person for northern agriculture that you could ever come across. If you don’t believe in northern agriculture, when you meet Jackie Milne you would be a believer by the time you finished the conversation. She’s a wonderful, wonderful boost to this program.
I applaud the Northern Farm Training Institute, which has lots of exciting ideas to expand in the future as it continues to grow and support the development of sustainable food systems across the Northwest Territories.
They’ve had an overwhelming successful year and are looking forward to another exciting year in 2014. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is very rare nowadays to meet someone who leaves an imprint in your life that made them unforgettable, a mark larger than life, an imprint that made you yearn to be a better person.
Mr. Speaker, our community lost one of our beloved, long-time sport volunteers and humanitarians recently to cancer. He was a very special man, a man who touched my life and many others in ways that I was never able to share until today. I know he’s looking down on us; so, Mr. Chris Bergman, I want to thank you and let you know you will be missed.
Long before I knew Chris Bergman, he was a standout football athlete with Idaho State, who followed in his father’s footsteps and pursued a career in law enforcement. Early on in his RCMP career, Chris’s journey took him north to Inuvik and many other communities in the Mackenzie Delta. It was in Inuvik where Chris met his wife, Dot, who was a nurse, and they embarked on a northern life together to places like Pond Inlet, Fort Smith, Regina, Red Deer, Ottawa and eventually Yellowknife, which they called home for 25 years.
Chris Bergman retired from the RCMP as a staff sergeant after 28 incredible years and served as director of Sport North. Finally, after a brief stint in Airdrie, Alberta, Chris and Dot returned to Range Lake where he worked for Diavik Diamond Mine for the last 10 years.
This larger than life, humble man was a tireless community member and humanitarian. He actively supported many organizations, including the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society, Yellowknife Food Rescue and Special Olympics. However, those of us who knew Chris Bergman, knew very well that minor hockey was his true inspiration and his ultimate legacy.
Through all these noteworthy contributions, Chris’s proudest achievements were his children – Jennifer, Peter and Kimberly – and later, his son-in-law Steve and daughter-in-law Tasha, along with his grandchildren, Abigail, Noah, Ava, Nate, Journey and Lane, could all be seen at events where you knew “Old Man Bergman” was in the house as his huge, notable, proud voice could be heard over the noisiest of venues.
Chris’s life and legacy left such a great impression on so many of us that it makes it easy to share a little bit of his humble way moving forward. At least, I long to try to live my life just like Mr. Bergman, whether it’s expected of me and many of us.
An emptiness will be felt in the lives of many Northerners, a space only as large as the man who filled it, but the memories are larger, the impact even greater. He was loved and he will be missed. But as the tears of grief, tears of joy fall, joy at the fact that Mr. Chris Bergman walks on streets of gold today, singing the hymn of Hockey Night in Canada, with a smile. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize some Pages in the House today. Niva Stephenson, who actually is just outside, I believe, but we have in the gallery today her mother, Karen Johnston, and her grandmother, Sue Johnston. A great welcome to them.
I also have a couple of others. I see Grace Clark here and her twin sister, Sophie, has been running around here, both of whom are fiddlers, by the way, of some renown. I would also like to recognize Anne Thomas, who is also a great fiddler, although not a Weledeh resident. Many thanks for the services of the Pages today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions will be for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Since February 2013, what action has been taken to secure a year-round licenced practical nurse in Tsiigehtchic? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been working with the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority, and the CEO from the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services has been looking at options. Actually, we have looked at the licenced practical nurse options and the possibility of training a paramedic to remain in Tsiigehtchic. There are some systematic problems with just putting a nurse in there; although one nurse could accommodate that population, according to the delivery model we are using. However, it’s difficult to find a nurse and place a nurse in Tsiigehtchic when we don’t have other supports in the community such as RCMP. So that is what our issue is.
We’ve also looked at the possibility of bringing in a nurse from Fort McPherson that can actually spend some nights in Tsiigehtchic, but there would be some arrangement with the community for security in case there was a nighttime callout. Thank you.
That answered part of my second question, but I will ask the Minister, will the Minister… I actually find it very funny that we put a wellness worker, one wellness worker into the community but we won’t put a licenced practical nurse. So I’d like to ask the Minister what is the Department of Health and Social Services and the Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Services Authority doing to remedy this situation.
In Tsiigehtchic and other communities where nurses do not stay, do not overnight, I know that during freeze-up and breakup in Tsiigehtchic we do place a registered nurse in the community on a full-time basis at that point. But to have somebody stay overnight in all these communities, we have not been able to do that just because of the situation.
The model is actually asking for a minimum of two nurses, if we are going to place nurses into a community, and also that there be RCMP officers in the community when we place nurses in the community. Therefore, that model kicks in at a certain population, and when communities have populations below that, we have to try to find alternatives to try to provide nurses in the community and that’s what we’ve looked at.
We have looked at various options but we haven’t come up with something that would work at this time. Thank you.
As I mentioned earlier, the community set aside housing for a nurse. Will the Minister work with the community leaders to find a way to put a nurse in that house?
Yes, we have, again, a plan to go into the community. I will go into the community myself with Health and Social Services staff, with the CEO, with the public administrator from the Beaufort-Delta, to try to resolve this issue. We are not trying to hide from the issue, it’s just we are having difficulty coming up with a solution that would work for everyone concerned. Thank you.
