Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I believe that we were asked this question in Committee of the Whole when we did our clause-by-clause, but we are hoping to have it early in the life of the next Assembly, preferably right at the beginning.

Mr. Speaker, outside of break-up or freeze-up, we are scheduled to have a nurse into the community of Tsiigehtchic one day a week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Chair, I do.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following six documents entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 720-18(3): Environmental Assessment following Hay River Highrise Fire"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 721-18(3): Recruitment of Physicians in Hay River"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 722-18(3): Fort Providence Seniors' Facility"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 737-18(3): Mental Health Services for Youth"; "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 744-18(3): Foster Family Recognition"; and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 775-18(3): Mental Health and Addictions Plan." Thank you...

There is no territorial law or regulation prohibiting the practice of cremation in the Northwest Territories. The department and I did commit to developing regulations under the Public Health Act in 2019, and these will provide essentially greater support and certainty to providers who may wish to offer cremation services in the territories. Having said that, Mr. Speaker, the department is responsible for regulation of cremation that is limited to public health matters, such as handling the body and disposing of human waste materials. Other aspects of cremation actually fall under the mandates...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member indicated, we did release a discussion document on May 1st with an opportunity for feedback until the end of May. We did receive two submissions, and, based on that information, we have issued some drafting instructions for the regulations. In broad terms, and, I mean, I could spend a significant amount of time going into the detail, but I am not going to, but, in broad terms at this point, based on the feedback that we received, we feel that the regulations are going to be quite consistent with that key elements document that was released previously. I...

Eighteen, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are aware of the concerns and the challenges facing the Hay River Health and Social Services authority. I agree with the Member that some systemic change is required in that authority. To that end, I know that the chief operating officer and the public administrator are looking at bringing about some change in that organization.

I have asked the deputy minister of Health and Social Services and the chair of the territorial Health and Social Services authority to go down and meet with them to talk about opportunities that we have to make some improvements in that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left is Heather Ruptash, who is the senior policy analyst at the Department of Health and Social Services, and on my right, Laura Jeffrey, legislative counsel, Department of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Since we put the sobering centre day shelter in its current location, we have had a lot of concerns raised. We have been working to improve those services to make sure that we have appropriate outreach. It is continuing to evolve. One of the things that we have done recently with our current provider is to put in place a day and sobering centre safety patrol.

These are individuals who walk around a set path around the neighbourhood. They wear identifiable clothing. They are trained in dealing with individuals in crisis, providing them with the information where they can get different supports...