Julie Green

My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. In my statement today, I mentioned there is a strategic plan to create safer communities for older adults. This wasn't a government strategy, but government was at the table along with other stakeholders from the seniors community. My question for the Minister is: are the strategy's recommendations still on the government's radar?

Thank you, Madam Chair. There have been some real challenges in communication during this pandemic. Of course, it is our very first pandemic and I'd like to think that there have been some learning along the way to how to communicate more effectively with people, not only in the ways that my colleagues have mentioned, but also by considering that not everybody is using social media or electronic means of gaining information. They were, to some extent, really left in the dark. I'm speaking here really of two groups of people. One is seniors who are not computer users. The other are vulnerable...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Most of us love and respect the elders in our lives, yet abuse of this growing population is a problem all across the country. The detail of the problem is documented by Statistics Canada. NWT has the second highest rate of elder abuse in the country, and that rate is rising.

What is "abuse" in this context? The World Health Organization says it's a single or repeated act, or the opposite, a lack of appropriate action, which causes harm and distress to an older person, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust. It's a sad fact that all...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to say how important this program is to low wage workers. Eighteen dollars an hour is not a living wage here in Yellowknife, so then, it's likely not to be a living wage anywhere else in the Northwest Territories. What this federal program enables the Government of the Northwest Territories to offer is wages that are closer to the living wage threshold, and thus, families and workers have a chance to live above the poverty line. I know from the questions that my colleague asked yesterday that there has been some uptake in this program. More uptake could be...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that most of us are aware that the best thing that we can do for our children is have them in licensed childcare. It promotes their personal development and their school readiness. It also allows, usually mothers, but in some cases, fathers, to return to the workforce and continue to support their families and have the personal fulfillment of work. This is really a critical service that we offer the population of the Northwest Territories. Every dollar that is spent on children under five is a savings for expenses further down the road because it gives them the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This recommendation has taken on particular importance today now that the Minister of Health and Social Services has shared modelling numbers of the number of potential hospitalizations, the number of potential cases, the number of potential deaths. We obviously need to be on top of our testing and contact tracing game. I know there has been a lot of testing to date, but that's based on five cases. If we end up with a hundred cases, a thousand cases, we need to be ready. The purpose of this recommendation is really to encourage the Minister to continue working with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure what COVID has to do with this. The Minister responsible for Seniors had already told the NWT Seniors' Society at the end of last year that he would not support the development of a seniors' strategy. I feel this is a really important strategy to support. That's the reason that I have brought this motion forward. I recognize that the government is not going to support this, but I look forward to the support of my Regular Member colleagues for our seniors to ensure that we've fulfilled our promise to them to make their lives easier in their old age. Mr...

Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the motion. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Motion 11-19(2) be amended by changing each reference of the word "elders" to the words "seniors and elders," except where it is the title of a document. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My question is actually about the next section. Maybe you could put me on the list for that. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Can the Minister tell us how much of this spending is going to be spent in the North and/or with Indigenous northern companies? Is that something that's known at this point?