Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ll probably be delayed on the answer, but if it could be done during this session so the public is informed, that would be appreciated. Thanks for that commitment.

Work is needed, definitely needed. It’s a situation that we want to get resolved, and work is underway, but there is also the need for oversight to make sure it’s being done in the way that everybody has agreed upon.

Is the delay being done on purpose to delay public oversight? Thank you.

We often hear complaints about delays in process and so on, but really fundamentally most of the delays are because things end up on Ministers’ desks without resolution.

Could I ask why the delay? We’ve agreed upon it. Everybody has agreed upon it. Work is going ahead without being done under the conditions of the environmental assessment that everybody has agreed on. Why the delay?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our judicial system treats adults with FASD as though they are responsible for their decisions and have a full capacity for that responsibility punishing them instead of offering treatment or alternative ways of dealing with it, and thus, our jails are full of adults with FASD who circulate through this costly system without resolution. A wellness court announced for this fall that partnership between Health and Social Services and Justice is a positive step and is needed as soon as possible.

Is there any capacity within Health and Social Services and the courts to...

That was my understanding as well. Today diagnosis of children with FASD is routine, but diagnosis of adults who were not assessed at young ages is a problem and many adults remain undiagnosed. They find themselves abandoned by the system, in trouble, in hospital or homeless and unaware of programs that might help. They don’t have the ability to function in a society that seems uncaring and stacked against them.

What treatment options and support services are in place to identify and help adults who have FASD? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks very much to the Minister for that response. The Minister has done some sound work in producing an Anti-Poverty Action Plan. Here is another concrete suggestion that would significantly impact poverty levels in both Yellowknife and the communities where income support is paying for rent.

Would the Minister commit to reporting back on the feasibility of creating more public housing in these communities instead of income support housing? Mahsi.

Thanks to the Minister. This is the latter case, policy failures. I hope I’ve exemplified that in yet another example here. I would encourage the Minister of the Social Envelope Committee to speak to his colleagues. That’s why I’m speaking to this Minister on cross-departmental issues. I cannot speak to each of them and address these issues. That’s why we’re failing and that is exactly why we have a Social Envelope Committee. I encourage the Minister to find out why it is that the Housing Corporation has a limit on public housing as well, at the same time ECE is paying sky high market rents...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to welcome all the folks from Hay River. It’s really great to see this bunch, and it’s an annual event and I welcome it. I’d also like to recognize John McFadden, a fellow from the media that many of us have come to know through his work. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would just quickly like to ask about the same project, if there was any consideration going with a higher grade surfacing. As we know, the Ingraham Trail is plagued with high cost for replacing surfacing. The Yellowknives Dene have used a very high grade material in their surfacing of the road in Ndilo. I’ve been quite impressed with the way that’s standing up compared to all other applications of paving that I’ve seen recently and certainly on Highway No. 3 and Highway No. 4. So, has there been any consideration? Is it too late to give that some consideration even if...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A good segue; thanks to Member Nadli for that. We are facing a housing crisis in Yellowknife. We all experience the high cost of living, and especially housing in Yellowknife, but government policies are causing people with the lowest incomes and housing issues to struggle more than ever.

Local organizations that help people with low income note that waiting lists for their low-income housing programs are longer than they’ve ever seen them. The same is true for public housing units. The lists are so long that for most people they are not a viable option. People end up...

I understand that we have very little extra on the Snare power line. So is that with development of Whati hydro power potential? Thank you.