Glen Abernethy

Some initial work was done identifying the types of positions that would be required in that new facility as a result of it taking a new function in the Sahtu. The 18 long-term care beds was something that didn't exist in the region before. I'm happy to share the information that we have as we develop a transition report. I'm happy to have a sit-down with the Member and bring him up to speed on what's happening in that region. I do believe we have a bit of time. It's my understanding, as I indicated, that we're not taking ownership of that building until March 31, 2017, so we still have a bit...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the budget there are actually some dollars allocated for the transition from the old facility into the new facility. It's about $200,000. Our intention is to develop a transition plan, but we do have a bit of time. This facility doesn't open until tentatively March 2017, so the transition plan hasn't been fully formed. Once it’s done, I'm happy to share it with the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No official dollars are actually allocated. We had committed as a government in the 17th Assembly, and I know the Minister today is also committed to working with the Assembly to find the dollars to support the Canada Winter Games bid. We were going to find those dollars, but no official dollars have actually been allocated into our budget. I can say that the federal government has announced they're going to invest in social infrastructure and I had an opportunity to meet with the Minister responsible, and we talked about some of the needs that we have in the Northwest Territories. Seniors'...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a number of things we're doing, but I'll focus primarily on the beds that we're going to need for seniors here in the Northwest Territories. We've just completed our longterm care review, which I'm going to be sharing with committee in the coming weeks. I'm in the process of drafting a letter to send to committee so that I can share it with them, and hopefully we'll have an opportunity to sit down for a meeting. But I'll give some up front numbers: By 2026 this government is going to be 259 beds short in longterm care. Forty-seven of those are in...

We've been very clear since the initial discussions around health transformation that this isn't about saving money, necessarily. This is more about improving the quality of care that we're providing to our residents by removing some of the barriers that exist for them today. We do know that there's a number of functions that occur in each of the authorities, that by working together we'll be able to control our costs and possibly have some savings, but mostly this is focused on improving our care for the residents of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the legislation has given us the authority to move to one authority in the Northwest Territories, as well as the Tlicho and Hay River Health authorities, was passed in May/June. It was initially intended to go live on April 1, but as a result of a number of factors including our difficulty getting the financial system for use by all the authorities; some delays we experienced during the election campaign; communication; and our ability to set up those wellness councils; and our delay in hiring a CEO -- I’ve decided to move forward the go-live date to August...

The homecare review that we're doing right now isn’t dependent upon the federal government. We're doing that work because it's necessary. Once we complete that work, we’ll be in a better position to actually have a conversation with committee and the public about how or what needs to be done around homecare. I wouldn't think it's too much of a stretch to assume that we need to look at our programs and provide different, maybe alternate training, than we currently do, so that we can help people age in their communities, which we know is better for patients and residents and clients to stay in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have an Aging in Place Strategy that we're following here in the Northwest Territories. Actually, in the previous Assembly, we had already agreed to go out and do some work to review homecare services in the Northwest Territories. That review is currently underway. Once that review is done, I have an opportunity to speak to committee on how we can actually enhance homecare services here in the Northwest Territories, whether it's through new programs or whether it's through modified programs, but it needs to focus on providing services in communities...

I’d need to confirm. The information I'm familiar with suggests that we will take ownership of that building in March 2017, at which point we will start moving into an official opening of the building. I don't believe a date has been determined, but I will talk to the CEO to see which date she is working on.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we need to look for any avenue to help us. Traditional procurement might be appropriate in some communities and regions; it may not be in others. Our minds need to be open to pretty much any option. The federal government is a potential other partner. In the previous government, I'd been asked whether or not we would be supportive of private businesses coming in and setting up longterm care facilities. This is something that we're supportive of. There's no reason somebody couldn't come in and start up a longterm care facility if they wanted. At the same...