Julie Green

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 am rising today to celebrate a great community and cultural event, the NorthWords Writers Festival, which begins tomorrow.

The festival was created in 2006 as a three-day event to provide a stage for northern and Indigenous writers to welcome established writers from southern Canada. The NorthWords Writers Festival Society was established a year later, and workshops and other literary events were added to the program.

Today the four-day event attracts around 1,000 people. Emerging and established writers converge to develop their craft through public readings, mentorships...

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.

Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Premier as the Minister responsible for implementing the Cabinet policy on naming new government buildings. On November 1st last year, I asked the Premier to start the process of finding a name for the government's new office building in Yellowknife. Four months later, a call went out for suggestions to name buildings in Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, and Inuvik, with nominations closing March 15th. Where do we stand now on getting names selected, and what is the target date for the announcement? Thank you.

I'd be very surprised to know that the neighbours don't want to have a regular mechanism of input into the agreement should they reach one. Just as the day shelter and the sobering centre is a 24-hour operation, neighbours have suggested the need for an around-the-clock phone line that can be used to report problems and incidents. Is that something that the Minister would consider introducing through the operator of the day shelter and sobering centre?

Yes. The mandate commits the department to create childcare that is available and affordable by showing us a plan about how that is going to be achieved. Could the Minister update us on the status of that plan? Thank you.