Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I gave a Member’s statement on Mr. Maurice Lockhart. It was interesting that at the time of his passing Maurice Lockhart was doing repairs and painting his house. I have questions for the Minister responsible for Seniors.
Mr. Speaker, in many of our aboriginal communities it’s very common for elders living in their homes. However, when it comes to assistance, sometimes the assistance comes very slowly. Can the Minister responsible for Seniors tell me if there are any discussions with other Ministers to ensure our government provides the seniors with expedient and quality service? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Seniors, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the questions. Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to be the Minister responsible for Seniors and I do deal with issues that deal with seniors that goes across the government. But when it comes to administering programs and delivering services to our people, whether it be in income security or in housing or in health and social services and other areas, each department is responsible for delivering those programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to developing a protocol where there is regular dialogue with other Ministers on seniors’ services and seniors’ issues? Thank you.
Yes, I would be happy to look into that. We do, as social service Ministers, or social envelope Ministers have met and we do meet, but with the Strategic Initiatives committees under Building Our Future, a lot of our work falls under that, so we’ve been doing that work under that committee. But I will be happy to undertake this task and work with the Member as the chair of the committee to see how we can refine this process. Thank you.
It’s not a health question. Mr. Speaker, another major concern, however, is health. Can the Minister tell me if she has developed some sort of strategy to ensure that the seniors in our small, isolated communities are given the best possible and timely care? Thank you.
Seniors issues and the provision of services in Health and Social Services for seniors is not just a small issue in a small community, but it’s emerging as one of the biggest challenges that our government faces and will continue to face. It is a big area of work and task and challenge that the department is working on. So I think in coming days we will be discussing more on that. So I want to put that out there and specifically to small communities, yes, we continually work with the communities, regional health authorities and every partner to deliver and improve our services to seniors. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister commit to working with the other Ministers on creating a centre for seniors programs to create sort of a consolidated approach to assisting the seniors to decrease any delays for services to seniors? Thank you.
I believe an issue similar to this was looked at before, and I’d be happy to share with the Member and the committee on that front. Mr. Speaker, I think in making sure that our seniors get the services they need, whether it’s housing, transportation, health and social services, income security, whether it’s the tax provision or income deduction, I think the fastest service is delivered when an issue comes up. It’s dealt with at the department level right away, and it’s something that we do. All the Ministers do that on a daily basis and, obviously, we could continue to work on improving that, but, yes, we do that. That’s our core business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
