Glen Abernethy

I do, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2017-2018 Main Estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services. The total proposed budget for the department is $423,457,000. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $9.2 million, which is an increase of 2 per cent over the 2016-2017 Main Estimates.

These estimates continue to support the GNWT's objective of ensuring a strong, sustainable future for the government and its programs by managing expenditures due to limited revenue growth.

Highlights of proposed budget include:

forced growth of $16.17...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The first year, we were pretty close to being almost exactly what was allocated, but since then we have been quite a bit lower. I think it is been about $1.8 million on a $500,000 package. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we have not done that work yet, but will be working with them. We are committed to working with them to look at the space to see what kind of life we have left and, if there is any life left, what needs to be done. Whether or not someday we do have to move from that building, we will work with them to find alternative solutions.

Yes. In fact they, already have. In the development of the framework in the summer of 2016, we held a number of different focus groups throughout communities and with youth from across the Northwest Territories. We engaged with FOXY and SMASH as well as MACA youth ambassadors. We have had youth involved.

Moving forward in the development of the action plan itself, we are intending to conduct different validation exercises with youth again to make sure that their voice is heard, that their input is included in the youth mental health action plan.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Point taken. The Member is 100 per cent correct. We will fix it in the future main estimates and business plans. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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.