Bob Bromley

Thanks to the Minister. I know that a lot of effort was spent on negotiating that new agreement and I am sure that along with these additional expenses there are some improvements in services provided. I don’t know if the Minister has those at hand, but it would be good to know, and I know the public would like to know what additional benefits we are getting, or whether this is just the cost of doing business to maintain the status quo. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. I think that would be useful. I am sure that the Minister is aware of the issue. I don’t necessarily see how this would be adding so much to the coroner’s office. It would not be something the coroner’s office would do; the Department of Justice would do it, take the lead for the GNWT as receiving the report and making sure that whatever department was the recipient would provide some sort of response that could be reported to the public and bring transparency that way. Just to the Minister’s perspective of this would be an extension of the coroner’s office and I don’t...

So is that all five of these positions?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I understand that the wellness court will rely quite heavily on the case management program. I wonder if the Minister will just explain that to me, if I understand that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, these people are trying to turn their lives around. They have taken the first steps, but then they find themselves at a dead end.

Could the Minister confirm that the Housing Corporation has integrated its programs with the Transitional Housing programs, and that clients in transitional housing will be prioritized for appropriate public housing above the clients who are homeless who could then be put into transitional housing? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That’s, frankly, gobbledegook that this Cabinet has the power to move around money and reallocate it. We’ve asked a number of times for the Minister of Finance to give us clarity on where that’s possible from his perspective. So, yes, I think committee members are certainly well aligned with reasonableness with this proposal. They may not agree with it, but totally in line. Mahsi.

Is that part of what the Minister was talking about with these three positions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up with my statement earlier today with questions to the Minister of the Housing Corporation. We are making some progress on transitional housing here in Yellowknife. We have the Bailey House, transitional housing run by the YWCA, and the Betty House is under construction.

Could the Minister remind us what the Housing Corporation’s understanding of the purpose of these transitional housing units is? Mahsi.

That’s correct.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Very briefly, I support this motion. I’d also like to note that it’s not really just prevention we’re talking about. We have a situation now, so we obviously need a lot of on-the-ground action right now while we are conducting or planning and putting in place a good comprehensive program of both prevention and treatment.

I’d also like to mention that we really should be promoting a dental therapist training program at Aurora College, so I’m hoping that the Minister of ECE is listening and will start to give some serious attention to developing that program, as well, if...