Julie Green

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to move item 5 as the next order of business today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to take a minute to express my appreciation to the committee and the Legislative Assembly staff for the work that they have done on this bill. I know that they have spent many hours, and they have produced a very solid result. I think that all of us in the NWT should be appreciative of that fact. Thank you.

The thing that I find most difficult to understand is, two and a half years after the day program closed, the Minister is now looking at an assessment of what the needs are. This, to me, does not indicate real priority to address this area. Why has it taken so long to get to the point of assessing needs?

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister of Health and Social Services talking about seniors' month starting in just a couple of days. Although the department provides many valuable services to seniors, there is a gap here in Yellowknife because there is no adult day program. It closed about two and a half years ago, and I ask each session what's happening with it. So, with that, I wonder if the Minister could give us an update on the status of the adult day program for Yellowknife? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues, for agreeing to that change. Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure today to welcome to the House a number of women who participated in a series of workshops called Women on the Ballot through the winter, which were presented here in Yellowknife. They are Caitlin Cleveland, Megan Holsapple, Kate Reid, Jan Vallilee, Katrina Nockleby, and Michelle Ramsay. I hope that they will, in fact, be women on the ballot this fall, and I thank them for coming and seeing what happens in this Chamber today. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. This is a botch. This assessment should have been done before the RFP went out. On what basis was the RFP issued in the first place, if not to describe the needs that the bidder was supposed to work on? I fail to understand how doing an assessment at this point is the next logical step. It should have been done years ago. Now, the Minister is saying to us not only will it be done now, the whole program will be implemented and designed within the next four months. Mr. Speaker, I have been here long enough to think that that is unlikely. What confidence can the Minister give...

If I understand this correctly, it was the stakeholders who told the Minister to put the brakes on this while he did an assessment of needs. Do I have that correctly?

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that strong endorsement of neighbourliness from the Minister. My final point is about timing. There will be a request for proposals for a new operator coming out sometime in the near future. It seems to me that a Good Neighbour Agreement might be an essential part of that RFP. Can the Minister say whether this Good Neighbour Agreement is intended to be part of that RFP? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the Minister's response that he is prepared to enter into a facilitated process. One of the features that is common to these types of agreements is a liaison mechanism such as a committee where all the stakeholders the Minister listed can gather and consult on how responsibilities are being met and where solutions are considered. As usual, of course, there are some resources, primarily administrative, to run the committee like this. Will the Minister commit to providing the necessary support to run a Good Neighbour committee?

Thank you. I appreciate the Minister's passion for the training, and I agree that it is very important. What I just can't get my head around, though, is where these 26 new licensed staff are going to go. It is my understanding that, while there is lots of demand for childcare, there is not very much supply, so where does the Minister see these people going? Thank you.