Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm actually quite proud of the work that we did on the 16th Assembly on that report. Tom Beaulieu, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh was the chair of that committee.

When I became the Minister of Health and Social Services five years ago, not seven as the Member has indicated, one of the first questions I asked is: where are we in implementing the recommendations from the standing committee? I was deeply saddened to realize that no progress had been made on any of the recommendations.

At that time, I made it a priority for the department to begin moving on...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents entitled, "Government of the Northwest Territories Disability Action Plan 2018-2019 to 2021-2022," "Northern Public Affairs, Volume 6, Special Issue No.1 2018: The Pan-Territorial On-the-Land Summit," and the "Northwest Territories Oral Health Action Plan 2018-2019 to 2020-2021." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Right now, residents from Liard and Nahanni can go to Fort Nelson, if that is where they choose to receive services. We do have reciprocal billing agreements with all provinces and territories in this country.

Our challenge, and I think the Member understands this, is that, when somebody uses their facilities without a referral in, they aren't necessarily covered for things like medical travel. There is also no ability to seamlessly share information where appropriate. What we are looking to do is actually fix that problem and find a way to refer people into Nelson so that they can take...

Absolutely.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely. Staff from the Department of Health and Social Services did visit the community of Fort Liard, as well as Fort Nelson, to meet with residents of Fort Liard, but also staff of the health system in Fort Nelson, to discuss, first off, what services are actually provided in Nelson.

I think there has been some confusion over the years about what capacity Nelson has. They certainly aren't providing all of the services that are offered here in the Northwest Territories, the services that are required by residents of the Northwest Territories, but they certainly...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on page 13 of the directors' report that I tabled late last week, there is a chart that shows a number of individuals who are receiving services in any given year. For instance, in the 2017-2018 year, there are 815 unique individuals who are receiving support. If you look at that chart, it will also show that there are multiple years. Many of those kids are in the system for many years. It is not like you are in one year and you are out the next. It is sometimes the case but not always. I do not have the total number of kids that received services over the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories made a commitment in its mandate to ensure the effective supports and programs were available for persons with disabilities. Our government believes that every person living with a disability has the full right to citizenship and opportunity which is why we have been working with our partners and stakeholders to advance plans that will effectively guide our efforts to support this goal.

In March 2016, our government initiated the Disability Program Review and Renewal Project to look at the status of current...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a zero-based budget exercise conducted during the 2017-2018 fiscal year was done to help inform a funding model for shelters here, in the Northwest Territories. That work has had significant progress. From there, we will be proposing some increases in the funds available to the shelters throughout the Northwest Territories for the next budget cycle. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to make one quick correction. The research that I was referring to was actually conducted by the Aurora Research Institute, and it examined the responses to intimate-partner violence in the Northwest Territories.

With respect to funding, the Member knows how this Assembly works. They know that we have to go through a business planning process, and we have to make a business case for increasing funds. I am proposing that we increase some funding here to the shelters here, in the Northwest Territories, through the next budgeting cycle.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was 14 when that report came out. We recognize that family violence is a crisis and is of incredible importance here, in the Northwest Territories. In Cabinet, we have established different committees of Cabinet to focus in on some of the challenges that we face here, in the Northwest Territories. We do have a social envelope committee of Cabinet that does look at this issue and look at how we can work better as departments to address those issues. I'm not convinced that right now we need to stand up a new committee, but I do hear the Member, and I will certainly ask...