Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to probe a little further on how this government can and will assist our seniors as they struggle to deal with the issue of elder abuse. My questions are for the Minister responsible for Seniors.
At the close of the NWT Seniors’ Building Network Symposium the society stated some priorities for immediate action. They want to put in place pilot networks in communities over the next three to four years; upgrade their online support to fight abuse with information; they want to reinstate the NWT Prevention of Abuse of Older Adults Steering Committee; and they seek seniors’ agreement to rename the June Senior Citizens Week as World Elder Awareness Week in the Northwest Territories. Four specific issues. Will the Minister have her staff sit down and meet with NWT Seniors’ executive on these four specific points and report to the Social Programs committee on how this government will give their support? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister responsible for Seniors, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our staff meets regularly with seniors’ groups including the NWT Seniors’ Society. They have very good relationships with them. I was at the elders’ conference in December on elder abuse and I am not aware if they have formally submitted those proposals. They might have but I just don’t have that in front of me. When they do and if they have, we would review them, analyse them and respond to them. Thank you.
I’ll take that as a yes, the Minister’s staff will sit down with these folks.
On Monday, Mr. Speaker, I asked the Minister to report back on the results of last week’s Coalition Against Family Violence meeting. The NWT Seniors’ Society is calling, as we heard from my colleague Ms. Bisaro, for the phase 3 of the Action Plan on Family Violence to make elder abuse a priority for phase 3 work. Will the Minister include this in the debriefing from the meeting and report back to committee on how this important element of the family violence equation can be given priority? Mahsi.
My understanding is that the coalition had one meeting and they are going to continue to meet to work on making a proposal to the government on phase 3. The past practices have been not only with this Family Violence Coalition but also the Homelessness Coalition. Those are groups made up of people in the field as well as some of the government staff. Traditionally, we let them do their work and they will make their presentations to appropriate departments and the Ministers. It’s not a normal practice for a Minister to tell them what to do. Obviously, I am here standing ready to hear from them, but I think we do need to give them some time to do the work. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to present to us, and I’d be happy to ask them to include elder abuse as part of their work. Thank you.
Thank you for the response from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, we need data to attack this problem. Data is information and all we have right now is anecdotal information. The Seniors’ Society is calling on government to get the facts and start research projects to collect specific data on the extent of elder abuse and living conditions specific to seniors. The Anti-Poverty Alliance is calling for the same improvements in data collection. Will the Minister commit to working with the Department of Executive to take prompt action on this request so we can set the 17th Assembly up with good data for informed action? Thank you.
I was not given that request from the NWT Seniors’ Society. I don’t know if the society sent that information to the Member. I’m here ready to work with the NWT Seniors’ Society. I’ve not been given a chance to review those, so if the society has any information that they would like us to look into, we stand ready to look at their request. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s commitment there. I thought she was at the meeting, but I’ll certainly make sure the seniors’ committee is corresponding with the Minister with that full information and request. Again, like the Anti-Poverty Alliance, the NWT seniors are calling for a coordinated and cross-government approach. Nothing new. The Minister is responsible for the well-being of seniors. Could she commit to updating her current seniors’ issues action plan with these inputs and reporting to committee again on this renewed strategy and again on the Coalition Against Family Violence meeting results as well? Thank you.
As I indicated, they had one initial meeting and I’m not sure if there’s a whole lot to report right now, but I am committed to working with them. I think we should give them a chance to meet and discuss and think through about where they want to go on the next phase.
I just want to repeat that my department, my officials that work with the seniors, they have a very good working relationship with them as the people who work on the Family Violence Coalition as the other coalitions we have. We have our staff working with the NGOs and stakeholders in these groups. As the material arrives from them I would be happy to brief the committee and work with them. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
