Glen Abernethy

The department is just one of the partners in putting these tools together. The NWT Seniors' Society is also a key partner in the work that has been done in this area. We are certainly going to work with the NWT Seniors' Society as well as other seniors' societies to find the best way to get that information out to seniors. I know that the NWT Seniors' Society, through the NWT Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults, have been around since 2009, and they try to get information out to our seniors and to our elders across the Northwest Territories. We are going to continue to work with them to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department provides about $205,000 annually to the NWT Seniors' Society, and they do a number of things with those dollars. They support the Senior Citizens' Month. They support the Senior Citizens' Advisory Council. They also provide community outreach programs. Of that $205,000, $90,000 is allocated to support the Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults and different activities.

This has also led to a significant number of resources that are available. I believe they are on the NWT Seniors' Society website, but they are also on the GNWT website and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’re not funding an operational review at this point in time, but we are working closely with them to do an analysis of their programs or services and the areas that we provide funding. The department flows funding for operations of Avens Manor long-term care facility for the operation of Avens cottages, the operation of the territorial dementia facility through the NWT Health and Social Services Authority. The three groups are working together to figure out how those dollars are being allocated, if it’s enough, if it’s not enough, how we can improve...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Avens, as I indicated, has always been a fantastic partner for the provision of services for seniors here in Yellowknife and, really, for residents across the Northwest Territories. They are having some financial difficulties right now. They are trying to ensure that they are spending their money wisely, and we are working closely with Avens right now to make sure that they can continue to move forward to provide core services. We obviously would like them to continue day services, but we really need to understand where they are financially. Once we have a...

Our first priority is to work with Avens because they have been a highquality provider of services in the past, and in many ways, they still are. They are providing highquality core services to their residents. When Avens does consider re-establishing the program once their finances are in order, they were hoping to use or they, rather, intend to use the report that was provided and will be shared to help them design a safe, effective, and responsive day program. Our first priority is to work with them to see if we could find a way to get to that place. If we cannot, obviously, we will have to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to meet with the board of Avens earlier in September, and it was clear to me at that meeting that they are very passionate about the programs and services that they provide. There is certainly an interest in doing a day program, but at this point in time, they indicated that they want to focus on the delivery of core services that they are providing so that they can continue to provide an incredibly high level of services to their residents. Right now, given some of the financial pressures, they had to make some hard choices, and they...

I think one of the concrete things that we are doing is actually providing the money to the NWT Seniors' Society to do the work around prevention and awareness and through the Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults. We are providing them money. We are working with them to get the information out. We are working on those different screening tools to make sure those are available to our health practitioners so that when individuals come in who are victims of abuse, they are recognized, and they are directed appropriately.

This work continues to evolve as new information becomes available and as...

Much of that work has been done, but much of that work is also ongoing. It continues to evolve. It is one of the items in the Continuing Care Action Plan. Actually, it is in objective number one. I believe it is on page 5 that it talks about elder abuse, and it is continuing the work that we are doing in partnership with the NWT Seniors' Society to finalize a standard set of elder abuse screening tools and to test those tools as well. It also includes protocols and intervention procedures for youth by a different health care provider. When an individual comes into a health centre, as an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things we’ve talked about in this House before is looking at the rates that are being charged for different long-term care facilities in the Northwest Territories per bed, but with Avens as an example, we have taken some steps already. Last month, September, the department provided Avens with funding to pay the major loan that has been taken to do some site preparation, so we paid off their $1.1 million loan which is going to help them address some of their costs with respect to paying back that loan but also some of the interest costs on that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Avens is an incredibly important partner. We’re working closely right now with them to look at the different areas where they’re having some financial pressure. One of the things that’s come up is the decrease in revenues and how that’s affecting the overall operations. We’re working closely with Avens to explore these different things, find out what’s happening, and find a way to ensure that they’re getting the money they need and that the money that they’re getting is being spent on the core services that they’re so good at providing. Thank you, Mr...