Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward with a pilot on that particular initiative, family and/or community caregivers. There are a number of different opportunities how this might roll out in the future. We want to test a couple of those, so we are going to be moving forward with a number of initiatives in different communities to test that exact principle. From there, we will be able to build a business case in whichever model seems to be the most effective so that we can build a business case to roll out at a territorial level. We are looking to go out in pilot on April...

It is my understanding that the Housing Corporation is actually working on that exact initiative to find ways to support homeowners who need to do retrofits to help individuals age in place. Related through Health and Social Services, we can have occupational therapists, when there is a referral, come into people's homes and help them with other supports to help support activities of daily living, to identify the types of grab bars and other things that might be valuable or alternatives to ramps and those types of things. So occupational therapy, upon referral, can go into communities to help...

I love the Member's passion on this file. This is a file that I have some passion for, as well. I do encourage Members to attend regional wellness council meetings. They are public. Anybody can attend them, and there are usually great discussions to these. So, please, all Members, attend your regional wellness council meetings.

Mr. Speaker, I did attend a meeting with the leadership council in the spring, and the leadership council did express some concerns with how information is flowing to and from regional councils. At that time, I committed to the chairs that I would attend each of the...

Mr. Speaker, there is no such thing as black and white in many of the things that we do. Many of the questions that come to me from MLAs are very complex in nature and require expertise at the front-line level, which requires us to go through our staff to the deputy minister's staff, to the authority's staff, to the front-line providers who are the ones who can provide us with that information. I do my best to endeavour to provide the MLAs with indication if answers are going to take longer than the standard five days, but in some situations, given the complexity and scope of the questions...

I would strongly encourage the Member to check his e-mails again because I do believe I followed up on that when he raised these concerns. Our intention is not to wait to provide that information to the regional wellness council first. Our intention is to get that information available to both parties who ask, which are MLA and regional wellness council, they both asked the same information, but to get to the information as soon as we can. However, at the same time, Mr. Speaker, I am strongly encouraging the Member to attend the next regional wellness council, where staff from the department...

Mr. Speaker, there is no role for the members of the regional wellness councils to provide information to MLAs. The regional wellness council members exist to provide input and guidance on the delivery of services at authority level, and they provide that information both directly at regional level but also through the leadership council up to the board. I do, however, encourage engagement among MLAs, community members, and regional wellness councils, given the shared commitment to improving health and social services in the Northwest Territories, but the regional wellness councils do not...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a few constituents from the Great Slave riding with us today. Ernie and Beatrice Bernhardt are with us today, as well as Daryl Dolynny, who is a former member and current CEO of Avens and a resident of the Great Slave riding. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following six documents entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 371-18(3): Dialysis Services"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 395-18(3): Hay River Regional Health Centre"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 399-18(3): Specified Condition Funding Eligibility for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 436-18(3): Family Violence Crisis Funding"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 450-18(3): Child and Family Services"; and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 455-18(3): Child and Family Services." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The regional wellness councillors are an incredibly important group of individuals, and they have the opportunity to bring information both from the public to the system, but also from the system to the public. Regional wellness council members are encouraged to obviously contact the chairperson of the respective wellness councils and to add items of concern to the agendas of those councils. They also have an opportunity, when appropriate, to go to the chief operating officer of a region, who may be able to provide them updates or information if they are looking for that information so that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is an orientation manual for the regional wellness council members on their roles and responsibilities. The handbook is updated on a regular basis. It's currently being reviewed to include updating information around additional guidelines and whatnot to make their jobs better understood and more clear. This will be shared, obviously, with the regional wellness councils across the Northwest Territories. There is a training session coming up where we are inviting all regional wellness council members to come in for an update and to be familiarized with...