Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the record, I should state the fact that the RFP has been out there, the time for the RFP has closed, at the end of April '07, and the evaluation is undergoing and will be awarded very soon. I am sure that the department has done the evaluation. I haven't got the latest news on that. So we are going with the RFP that has been established. It has worked for us and we're looking at continuing on with that practice. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department has not raised this issue with me in this area. We will continue to work on the program we have established in partnership with the NGOs and health and social services authority. This specific area hasn’t been brought to my attention. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don’t have a specific caseload that all of our workers have in the communities across the Northwest Territories at this point, but, from the department’s perspective, we have invested quite a substantial amount of money over the last few years in trying to strengthen this area of mental health and addictions. For example, in 2007, as I had stated yesterday in a number of questions, 77 positions were added and funding of about $6.6 million through health and social services authorities to strengthen this area. That went towards community wellness...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the program, as it was set up and put through the process, is aimed at those communities that already, through the municipality, deliver services for ambulance. So that is where it is going to be focussed. The training aspect will be across the board for where we already have services. There are some communities, for example, that have services delivered through a health authority. Those will remain, as those are funded through authorities. This piece will go towards those communities that do deliver through the municipality and it is application...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise the House that the Honourable Joe Handley and the Honourable Michael McLeod will be absent from the House today to attend the annual general meeting of the NWT Association of Communities in Norman Wells. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this area, indeed, is one where there will be additional workload. As we've stated through this process, that the department, through these amendments, will be held more accountable for their actions and we'd have to be prepared for that. The department has looked at a number of areas. For example, there's first the coming into force which, if passed, would be looking at January 2008. With that in mind, we're working to meet that date by revising the documents and materials that can be provided to families when children are apprehended, as well as...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the act, as we're amending it, would allow for the use of justices of the peace during the initial stages, and that's the apprehension hearing, up to a temporary hearing. After that it would be through a full judge process. Thank you.

Yes, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that Bill 15, Liquor Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill provides for the regulation of liquor in the Northwest Territories. The Liquor Licensing Board is given authority to issue licences and permits, and is assigned responsibility for the regulation of licence holders and permit holders, and the operations of licensed premises and manufacturing facilities. The Liquor Commission is assigned responsibility for the importation into and distribution of liquor within the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the process we have used in trying to strengthen our mental health and addictions programs across the Territories is one we have worked in partnership with NGOs, ourselves, and health and social services authorities. I am not sure if this contract, the impact it would have on us. Of course, every link in the system will help strengthen our own position. So I would have to ask the department if there is going to be any spin-off to this. Of course, this program we work under is available to every resident of the Northwest Territories. As I stated, we...