Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can confirm that absolutely. The executive director is the chair of the reference panel for the NGOs that we have put together. The executive director is the chair. We have been working with them. They are one of the groups that suggested to us that we need to make sure we get this right as opposed to right now, so we are working with them and even more so as we move forward into the next step, which is going past the inventory and into the action plans.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Member for raising this question. The framework is out. We have shared it with committee. It has been tabled. That strategic framework set out some guiding principles that were utilized in the development of the different action plans. Those items are a focus on prevention and early intervention, recovery orientation systems, personal experience and outcomes, and a whole-of-government approach. As we move forward with the different action plans, those are some of the guiding principles that we are using.

With respect to the child and youth mental...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chair, the $205,000 on this page is of dollars that flow to the NWT Seniors' Society for their programming and their operations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, we think this is probably the right section.

No. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, with respect to travel, we have worked hard to sort of control our travel and make sure that we're maximizing any travel that we have to do, and finding other ways to get the work done that may not require some travel. It was part of our reduction plan, and we have found that we have been able to maintain the work necessary even with the reduced travel. The fees and payments, one of the things that has occurred there is the Chief Public Health Office, there's been some functions transferred into the Territorial Authority. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Member is right on all counts. The on-the-land program is incredibly valuable and important. We're hearing from our partners, the Aboriginal partners, across the Northwest Territories how valuable it is. There's no growth in this budget from the GNWT in on-the-land programming, but, at the same time, there are some federal dollars that have been made available, some of them going to the IRC and some of them will likely go through the GNWT and be distributed to our Aboriginal partners. It hasn't all been worked out. We continue to pursue other people's money...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, much of that is actually legislated. One of the differences between the old system and the new system is, there are actually some lines of clear accountability that never really existed in the old system. In this system, the Minister is ultimately responsible. The Minister is responsible for selecting a chair and board members of the Territorial Authority who are providing some management direction to the operation of the healthcare system, the delivery system.

In the delivery system, there is a COO, or a CEO at the top of the authority who is the supervisor of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I like it. That's a target, not a definition, but I’m prepared to work with it. We still need a definition of poverty, and I think the Member's point is valid. I mean, that's a good target, but we still need to define what the poverty means in order to meet that target. There are so many different definitions out there, so many opinions, but we have to do it. It's not going to be easy; it's hard work. Like I said, I know the Member is passionate about this, so I'm open to some suggestions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, this is something that we're committed to, and I'm happy to say we've actually had some success in this area. Success that even I didn't actually anticipate that we would see this quickly. Although Hay River is technically not in the Health Authority because of the issues that have been discussed already, through memorandums of understanding and agreement we are acting and they are partnering as if they are.

One of the benefits we had out of that is, although K'atlodeeche was traditionally in the Deh Cho as far as health services, Hay River has been working really...