Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell us if there are any future plans for the government to build an aftercare facility or a wellness and recovery centre in a community outside of the capital region? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can tell the Member, the Member from Thebacha as well as the other Members, that our focus right now is opening the permanent wellness and recovery centre which the Member referenced in her statement. This facility will replace the current day and sobering centre, and the services offered in the one place will be transferred to the other once the building is open.
At this time, there are no plans to establish a similar service in any other community. That would require new resources which would need to follow established GNWT resource allocation processes which we all know start with a business plan, end with the budget. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister consider opening a satellite wellness and recovery centre that's related to the one in the capital but situated in a different regional centre in the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware of similar requests for day shelter options in other communities, including in Hay River and in Inuvik and in Fort Simpson, but establishing this type of service in other communities would need to involve conversations with partners at the NWT Housing Corporation who are the lead on homelessness, taking as a startingpoint that most of these services are required by homeless individuals.
Should there be a way forward to establish additional day sheltering programs, there would be an opportunity to use what we've learned running the temporary day shelter here in Yellowknife, as well as the sobering centre, and use that to create a template for approaches in other communities so that it becomes the centre here becomes a model for similar centres should the partnerships and the money materialize. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, if the government is unable to open a satellite recovery centre on its own, would the Minister consider partnering with Indigenous governments, or other communities and organizations, to open a separate standalone recovery centre? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm absolutely open to the idea of creating a partnership in a community outside of Yellowknife to offer these services, however, there would still be the question of resources, where the program was going to be located and who was going to pay for it. So at this point, as I said, there is no plan for a new facility or for the additional resources that would be required. But if Indigenous governments or community organizations are interested in partnering in the provision of wellness services, I urge them to contact me. Thank you.
Final supplementary, Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, has the Minister engaged with any Indigenous or community governments about any potential partnerships in building a recovery centre or aftercare facility within the NWT, specifically in any region outside of the capital? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to this point no Indigenous government or community organization has contacted me about this idea. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
