Glen Abernethy

There will be some temporary program moves as renovations are completed in the legacy Stanton building, the old building. For instance, outpatient rehab will be temporarily located on level 2 of the centre square tower, while speech and audiology will remain at the Stanton Medical Centre, which is the building beside McDonald's. The extended care unit will temporarily move to level 5 of the new Stanton building. There will be some temporary moves.

Mr. Speaker, we want this information to be clear. We want this information to be transparent. We are intending to keep our website updated on a...

We do have speech-language pathologists and we do have OT for paeds. We also have the FASD and the ADS coordinator positions. All these positions can be accessed through referrals through their health providers in the communities. Obviously, we were out there trying to get the referrals done so that we can get these kids the supports and services they need. Regardless of where you are in the Northwest Territories, it still takes a referral to access any of our rehab services, regardless of where you live. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There is a wait list for the zero- to 18-year-olds for 2018-2019. There are 23 for OT and five for speech-language therapy. Of those, nine OTs are for children under five, and five speech-language therapy are for children under five.

Mr. Speaker, this Legislative Assembly has committed to support early childhood development, and today I want to provide Members and the public with an update on our work to provide equitable access to a range of inclusive, culturally-informed programs and services for and children under five years of age and expecting parents.

In June 2017, our government tabled a renewed three-year Early Childhood Development Action Plan designed to help us take action at several sensitive times of a child's development. For the past two years, we have worked with parents, elders, healthcare practitioners...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. You'll notice, in the document in front of you, there is a column of actuals for 2017-2018. As we know, those are based on the actual numbers after recalculations and whatnot in that fiscal year. Last year, 2018-2019, or rather this current year, we had a big base adjustment that brought our mains up to the $29,278,000. We anticipate that there will still be a minor supplementary that might increase that number slightly, but this is the base amount that we have moved forward with on each year. We recognize that, given that these ultimately are based on actuals, there...

Sure, absolutely, but as people come back with information, they do apply some principles and theories that may be beyond some of the scope of what we are currently doing and providing. In this particular case, there were recommendations about how work is provided or how work flows within Avens. They want to look at their operations to see what opportunities exist there and what that might equate to once they attempt to implement some of those things. There is work that needs to be done so that we can actually totally have a sense of what the costs will be.

In the report, there are also some...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. When we finalize the plan, we intend to do some communication through our existing medical travel program. We will certainly do some press releases. We will make sure that the information is included on the appropriate websites so people can see it and are aware of it and are aware of the other mechanisms that may be available to them to help them offset some of those costs, so that they know well in advance. Our anticipation is that we won't make the decision and roll it out the next day, that we will have some time in between so people are aware it is coming.

Mr. Chair, the money from the mental health and addictions, which was $450,000 and now moved to $250, $200,000 of that has actually been moved into the line directly below, on-the-land healing fund, as part of the increase there of $725,000. Some of that money is new, but some of that money has been moved into this area from that area, so it is still in the budget. It has just moved. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, right now, the answer is no, but I, like the Member, believe it's important for people to know, and the department is working to getting to the point where we can report on some wait times. It is not here today, but it is work that is being done. I want to see it. The Member wants to see it. I think I've been asked in the House over the last couple of days a number of questions on wait times. People want to see it, so I will be directing the department to find a way to make that information public. Having said that, these investments we're making today will help us reduce the wait...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Those funds are actually included within the capital project, as part of the total capital process. They're not part of the O and M costs.