Frederick Blake Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to comment on what isn’t in the budget. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, there’s a big demand for a long-term care facility in the Mackenzie Delta, yet I don’t see anything in the budget to accommodate that. I just want to stress the importance of having our elders in our communities. We owe a lot to our elders and I think we should be treating them with the respect they deserve.

In the future years I’d like to see a health care facility within the region, within the communities like Aklavik or Fort McPherson, for example. Not everybody is very comfortable...

The amount of funding provided is clearly the problem. Will the Minister provide the wellness worker position under the Department of Health and Social Services as it was done last year?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s been six months since changes to the wellness worker in Tsiigehtchic were made. In April the wellness worker position was contracted to the community with a large decrease of funds available compared to when the GNWT offered the position.

This government should not set the communities up for failure. As we look to decentralize many of our government positions to the communities, we should be providing adequate funding to the communities so they succeed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my opening statement, I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. One of the benefits I mentioned earlier in my statement, what would it really cost to station a nurse in Tsiigehtchic? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister budget for one nurse and one LPN in Tsiigehtchic as part of the budget for 2013-2014?

What savings does the Health department estimate there would be as a result of reducing travel and some lowering of the need for critical care?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mackenzie River will soon be freezing and Tsiigehtchic will be cut off from Inuvik by road, and Fort McPherson too, for that matter. We love this time of year, and not just because it’s the only period that a nurse is stationed in Tsiigehtchic. I wonder how many years my predecessor and I have been asking for that nurse to stay put in Tsiigehtchic year round. It seems that our pleas and that of the local leadership are falling on deaf ears.

I’m willing to give the current Health Minister the benefit of the doubt, since he’s only been in the office for a year. He...

Will the Minister station a licenced practical nurse in Tsiigehtchic on a full-time basis as a pilot project?

Nothing further, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Within the plans for 2013 year I was very shocked to see the lack of spending within the Mackenzie Delta riding. Over the last year we’ve noticed a lot of residents moving back to our communities of the Mackenzie Delta. Whether it’s lack of work either in Inuvik or a lot of students coming back from school in the south, we’ve seen a huge increase of students coming back to the communities. With that, we’ve seen a big demand for housing within the regions. I was hoping that we could plan for this coming year to put more infrastructure into the communities.

Also, to do...