Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is on the Willow River in Aklavik. Last year at this time, our Department of Transportation gave a contribution to the community to purchase a bridge that’s needed for this project, and I really thank the department for that. But the job is not done yet.

We still need funding to put that bridge in place by the end of this season. We have just over two months to have that bridge in place, and I’m hoping that the department will continue to work with the community to ensure we have the proper funding in place to make sure that that project is completed.

I...

Thank you. A number of years back, I think it was in the mid ‘80s or so, there was the HAP program. A number of people took advantage of that in the communities. Residents were given the opportunity for materials and it was up them to either put in labour or a lot of them constructed their own houses throughout the territory in all the communities. There are a lot of people out there that would like to see a similar program like that moving forward. Are the Minister and the department looking at that sort of program in the near future?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to ask a quick question to the Premier. It seems like a lot of these positions are, well, they are all out here in headquarters. I’d like to ask the Premier, when do they plan to decentralize some of these positions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just have a couple questions for the Minister of Transportation. As I mentioned, we have purchased a bridge in Aklavik that’s now sitting in Inuvik awaiting enough ice to transport to Aklavik. But in order to have this bridge in place, we do need funds.

I’d like to ask the Minister, will the Minister work with the community to ensure we have enough to have this bridge in place by the end of this season?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a few concerns. As we move forward there are a number of positions that are not filled within the Mackenzie Delta riding. As we move forward this coming year, I would like to see all of those positions, if possible, filled. There are a number of people looking for work in the communities and I feel there is really no excuse for not filling those positions. If we try hard enough, I think we could accomplish that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are still waiting a formal policy change in the service delivery model. In the meantime, I have a practical suggestion. The current arrangement has a nurse visiting Tsiigehtchic one day a week for most of the year.

Will the Minister commit to funding a nurse to spend two days a week in Tsiigehtchic instead of just one, as most of that is due to travel? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Minister Abernethy stated in this House that he has been told that one of the major concerns in remote communities is emergency response. He also stated, and he just mentioned, that the department is in the midst of rolling out Med-Response, which will have a direct positive impact on the service delivery in places like Tsiigehtchic.

Can the Minister inform this House when residents of Tsiigehtchic will have access to Med-Response and how can they access it after hours? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government is supposed to provide high-quality health care to the NWT residents no matter where they live. Yet, in the smallest communities, places like Tsiigehtchic, people don’t have year-round access to a nurse.

I’ve raised this concern many times. It’s a stressful situation. Residents are scared that something terrible may happen and they won’t have backup when they need it most. The idea for a full-time nurse made it into the Health and Social Services 2010-11 Business Plan, but the Minister of the day reneged on that commitment.

On February 7, 2013, another...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I was specifically talking to the Beaufort-Delta riding and the Mackenzie Delta riding. Yellowknife has hundreds, almost thousands of jobs and my main focus is up where it is really needed and that is in the smaller communities of the Mackenzie Delta riding. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have a few comments to make. Over the last couple of years in the Health department, with the closing of Nats’ejee K’eh we have seen a lot of programs in our territory diminish. I haven’t seen the latest stats on how many people are actually going south for treatment, but there is a high demand up in the Beaufort-Delta for on-the-land programs which were promised, but as of today I believe there is only one program offered over the last year. There has to be more done in that department.

Also, under lowering the cost of living, it is good to see some funds going...