Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure there’s enough time on the clock. The Our Elders: Our Communities framework outlines seven priorities that will be used to guide the future program design for older adults to assist them to remain in their communities, as long as possible. That’s the ultimate goal of aging in place. The seven priorities include:

Healthy and active aging;

Home and community care services;

Integrated and coordinated services across the continuum;

Caregiver supports;

Elder responsive communities;

Accessible and current information, making sure it’s available; as well as

Sustainable...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize June 15th as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Colleagues and visitors in the gallery are wearing purple to promote awareness of this important day, and I’d like to recognize the significant amount of purple in the building today. Mr. Speaker, our work towards eliminating elder abuse is done in partnership with the NWT Seniors’ Society and the NWT Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults. I would encourage all Members to read the Creating Safe Communities for Older Adults: a Five Year Strategy for the Northwest Territories...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled “Creating Safe Communities for Older Adults: A Five Year Strategy for the Northwest Territories 2015-2020” and the “NWT On The Land Collaborative Fund Pilot Report.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’re not planning a formal response to the document, but we do have a solid working relationship with the Seniors’ Society. We’ll continue working with the Seniors’ Society. Where appropriate and where it falls within our mandate, we’re absolutely willing to move forward on different initiatives identified within the framework that we’re tabling today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to be tabling the fiveyear strategy that was developed by the NWT Seniors’ Society and the NWT Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults later today. The department has been collaborating with the NWT Seniors’ Society and the network to support training for further frontline providers and screening assessment and support of older adults who undergo abuse. We have made a commitment and now make a commitment again here today that we will continue to work with the Seniors’ Society and participate with the network in prevention of abuse of older adults on the...

Mr. Speaker, the department has been collaborating with the NWT Seniors’ Society and the Network for the Prevention of Abuse of Older Adults. A key action in the strategy is related to training for frontline providers and screening, assessment and support of older adults who actually are undergoing abuse. Older adult abuse screening tools are designed to gather information about older adults and their circumstances in order to evaluate the possibility of abuse occurrence. Screening tools offer a framework for deciding what strategies may be the most appropriate, if problems are identified...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NWT Seniors’ Society began as an organization in 1983 when a group of seniors got together and began working with the government to provide services for seniors as well as older adults. Today, the NWT Seniors’ Society and its advisory council continue to work with all levels of government to keep us apprised of issues of importance to seniors. For the past 18 years, the advisory council has worked tirelessly to prevent the abuse of older adults by creating awareness and providing education and information sessions to ensure everyone understands the...

Mr. Speaker, those positions work for or are, rather, employed by the Department of the Executive, but the Department of the Executive has been engaged with the network, and the government services officers are their employees. The health and social services authority’s frontline staff works with the community level with our government services officers and understand and appreciate their role in assisting elders in accessing programs and services. , As part of implementing the screening tools, the Department of Health and Social Services will work with the Executive as well as the territorial...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the total for region allocation in 201516 was $241,000 and it’s $240,000 for this year, so it’s down one thousand. There has been some additional positions added for other reasons, and some internal reallocations, positions that existed, but maybe weren’t in the previous capital. They would have been unfunded. They’ve brought some of those in to be established.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. . These dollars cover things like basic administration, client support services, some of the direct costs by way of individual authorities, some facility maintenance and support across the different authorities, their finance costs, human resource costs and some of their system support costs. These are things that are happening in the authorities today. I don’t anticipate that these dollars are going to go down with a single authority because, as I’ve said several times, this isn’t centralization or taking anything away from the communities or regions that exist today...