Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be quick. We’ve heard an awful lot today about the value of respite services. These services offer the families an opportunity to care for their children, and rest, and get their children socialized into society.

I attended a Yellowknife Association for Community Living meeting shortly after it came down that the program in Yellowknife had been cancelled. I was pleased at that meeting that I had the opportunity to listen to a young man with autism stand up and speak about how valuable this program is to him. At that time, he stood up and said respite workers helped...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to table a document from the program coordinator at the Yellowknife Family Centre in support of the Yellowknife Association for Community Living’s existing respite program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, I fully believe the Minister when she says she supports respite. I am happy to hear that they are planning to do something. I am going to continue to ask the Minister to commit to finding the $250,000 for the Yellowknife Association for Community Living. Will the Minister commit the $250,000 to keep this particular respite that serves 29 families in Yellowknife and offers high-quality programming and services to help these children socialize and integrate into the community and provide the needed relief to the parents of these children? Thank you, Mr...

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was listening to the radio and there was a report on and there was a representative from the Yellowknife Health and Social Services who indicated that, basically, they’re offering families who need respite an opportunity to enter into a voluntary service agreement, a VSA. To me, this is an acknowledgement that respite services are needed here in the Northwest Territories. Even indirectly, Yellowknife Health and Social Services is recognizing that respite is required. Unfortunately, I don’t believe in any way, shape or form, requiring a family to enter into a VSA...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize some constituents of the Great Slave riding: Heather Oliver who is a constituency assistant for Dennis Bevington, the MP for Western Arctic; John Williston, Peggy Moorhouse, Shawna Stange-Brown, and Elizabeth Purchase. There’s been a lot of turnover in the gallery, so if I missed anybody from the Great Slave riding, welcome, and enjoy the Legislature today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their words. Clearly, respite services are important to the Members of this House. We need to continue to provide respite. I agree with the Minister; there are huge financial challenges, but we are talking about a couple of hours a week for these families. What is the cost of a program like this when you factor in what it is costing for somebody like Yellowknife Association for Community Living to deliver those two or three hours as opposed to having the families work with other institutions like our hospitals, where I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Whereas the Department of Health and Social Services and the regional health and social services authorities currently provide respite care services;

AND WHEREAS respite care services support the goal of keeping families together by relieving stress on primary caregivers;

AND WHEREAS the cost of these respite care services is much less than the cost of institutional care for disabled children and adults;

AND WHEREAS without respite care services some of these individuals with disabilities might become institutionalized and the responsibility of the Department of Health...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, November 5, 2010, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that this Legislative Assembly recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories commit permanent funding for respite care services across the Northwest Territories before the cancellation of any existing services.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to present a petition dealing with the matter of respite services in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the petition contains 1,255 handwritten signatures and 552 electronic signatures. Of those, 1,756 signatories identified themselves as residents of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the petitioners request that the Government of the Northwest Territories commit permanent funding for respite services across the Northwest Territories before the cancellation of any existing services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.