Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. They’re planning to start moving into that building late summer or fall. It’s on schedule.

I have a fairly decent relationship with the NWT Disabilities Council. We meet on a fairly regular basis to talk about the different programming they are providing and how we can work together, and we have been able to work together on many fronts. I also know the department monitors and follows up on the contributions they are providing, to see if the services are being met. All this information is going to be important moving forward to enhance this pilot to see how we can actually move out to the communities where we aren’t getting the respite services the Member is describing. We do need...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to start by just talking about some of the programs that we actually have with respect to respite. I did agree with the Member’s statement. Respite is an incredibly valuable service and I’ve been a supporter of respite services in the Northwest Territories for many years. We do have respite services provided through home care programs, and the NWT Home and Community Care Program provides respite services, mainly for caregivers of adults whose disability is a result of illness or a chronic health condition, while social respite for caregivers of children with...

It’s no surprise we suffer some challenges around recruitment and retention of health professionals on all levels of the Northwest Territories. We’ve recently developed the NWT Health and Social Services Strategic Human Resource Plan to help us increase our effectiveness of recruitment and retention of health professionals.

We’re also supporting training of resident care aids and other positions for things like the Norman Wells long-term care facility so we can get more people into communities. This training is something that could be used for other positions as well. We wanted to continue to...

There are a couple of different ways, as I articulated previously. There is the Home Care Program where we can have individuals go in, but it is limited and it’s not in all communities. We are looking through this pilot to find ways to expand that out to more communities, but we need more time to do the assessment.

There are also the NGOs. We should be incredibly proud of the work the NGOs are doing, whether it’s YACL or the NWT Disabilities Council. They can provide respite services exactly as the Member is describing for individuals in certain communities. They are always looking for ways to...

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to achieving this Legislative Assembly’s vision of strong individuals, families and communities. By working together in partnerships, we can reach our goal of healthy and educated people in sustainable and vibrant communities throughout our territory.

To help promote, preserve and manage the long-term health and social well-being of NWT residents, the Social Envelope Committee of Cabinet and the corresponding deputy minister committee have introduced a number of initiatives and actions. We have previously talked about some of them, such as our actions...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, June 1, 2015, I’ll move that Bill 55, Mental Health Act, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, in October 2014 I tabled Building Stronger Families – An Action Plan to Transform Child and Family Services, supporting the government’s commitment to improve the quality of child and family services for those receiving services under the Child and Family Services Act. I am pleased to provide an update to Members on the progress to date and implementation of our Action Plan to Transform Child and Family Services.

The action plan outlines 12 major initiatives in response to the many recommendations made for system-wide change. These initiatives support our goal to provide more...

It would be impossible for me to give a hard and fast date. As the Member knows, we have a pretty thorough capital planning process, and for us to bring forward the project into the capital plan, we have to have a very, very thorough analysis articulated clearly, all O and M costs so that we can make decisions together as a Legislature.

I already mentioned the work that we’re doing in the department with our consultant, who is clearly going to be moving forward and doing the analysis needed to build that super strong business case that will allow us to move forward with this particular project...

The Cabinet has regularly spoken about our current fiscal situation and the fiscal realities facing both the government of today and the government tomorrow.

In the Premier’s statement earlier today, he said this increase to our borrowing limit gives the Government of the Northwest Territories increased flexibility to invest in much needed infrastructure that will support the responsible development of the Northwest Territories economy to bring down the cost of living for communities and residents. We’ve also been incredibly clear that this money is not intended to be used for operations or...