Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we were talking about detox and aftercare recovery, we are talking about the difference between life and death for some. This reality may not resonate with those that have no ties with the people in communities, but for us that are born and raised here we have family and friends throughout the NWT, and some of them are looking for our help. That is why this issue is so important.
Mr. Speaker, on the department of health's website, it states that the establishment of transitional sober/recovery housing for individuals returning from addictions treatment is a priority for the 19th Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, we have been here for over three years, and I do not see any such initiatives in Hay River or, for that matter, in any regional centres or small communities. Will the Minister of health tell me when her department will deliver on this priority for the community of Hay River, regional centres, and small communities, because that priority appears to only be government rhetoric. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I don't think there is a family in the whole of Canada that has not had some experience with addictions and the chaos that it causes, and I'm no exception.
With respect to the transitional housing initiative, we issued an expression of interest in December of 2021, so just over a year ago, to ask community organizations if they would like to develop a model for transitional housing for people coming from treatment centres. We got four communities that were interested, including Fort Good Hope, Inuvik, and Yellowknife. We also had some interest from Hay River from the committee for persons with disabilities. They have not yet delivered their service delivery model to us, but we expect it shortly. We have received it from the other places, and so the job now is to do the analysis and put the requests for funding into the business plan cycle. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm glad to hear that there's some movement there, and I'd like to see it happen a little faster, though.
Mr. Speaker, this government is no doubt the leader when it comes to inefficiency which is apparent by the number of public housing units and other buildings sitting empty or being unutilized. Mr. Speaker, what discussion has this Minister of health had with her colleagues around the use of, or repurposing empty or underutilized infrastructure for detox, aftercare treatment, and transitional sober recovery housing? Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member raises a good point. We've had a couple of programs close recently that occupied the Territorial Treatment Centre in Yellowknife and the Trailcross Treatment Centre in Fort Smith. So we are aware that there is some surplus infrastructure. I think the process is to first of all identify the programming we want in the surplus infrastructure and then see whether it's appropriate for use. Some of the infrastructure that the Member has mentioned is very old and would not be up to code whereas other buildings would be ready for occupancy in short order. So I think that trying to reuse what we already have makes a lot of sense. It would certainly speed along the delivery of the service compared to trying to build from scratch. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, it's good to hear that, you know, government is looking at it. And, you know, unfortunately, you know, I don't think the movement is fast enough because people are, you know, dying around us.
Mr. Speaker, this government is using and taking advantage of NGOs as a form of cheap labour to deliver healthrelated services for the department.
Mr. Speaker, as this government is clearly reliant on NGOs to administer and provide some of its healthcare services around addiction support and recovery, I then ask the Minister if increased compensation and multiyear agreements with NGOs performing healthrelated services are being considered, and if not, why not? Thank you.
Yes, thank you. I have to say that I personally, and the department as well, recognizes the need for stability and support in the NGO sector and the value of the services they provide to our communities. So we are certainly open to looking first at more compensation and secondly multiyear agreements. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, talk is cheap so I'm kind of hoping that I actually see some money hit the floor at some point, and sooner than later.
Mr. Speaker, no detox beds and no aftercare facilities. Without those two components, we can only expect more people to die, and those deaths will be on us. Mr. Speaker, with the federal government offering up additional healthcare funding for the NWT, will the Minister of health confirm that there will be a shift in her department's assessment when it comes to address the front and back end of treatment which are detox and aftercare beds or facilities in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we had a good goaround yesterday on detox so I'm not going to go back there.
In terms of new federal funding, I'm very interested to see what the details are and how that money can be spent to the benefit of residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
