Julie Green

The Minister had his official study the Elders Circle program at Avens' request, and I believe that a report was produced by territorial staff and shared with Avens in the summer. When is the Minister going to make this report available to the Standing Committee on Social Development and to the public?

Mr. Speaker, Yellowknife has a rapidly growing population of seniors, and they have a growing list of needs so they can remain in their own homes for as long as possible. One of those needs is a day program that provides for their social and emotional well-being, and gives their caregivers respite.

Starting in January 2011, Avens provided a day program to meet those needs called Elders' Circle. It operated until last fall when it closed. Staff said the closure was temporary, pending an evaluation of the program's safety and quality. The Yellowknife Association for Community Living stepped in to...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, is the Minister funding an operational review of Avens at this time? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue my questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. My first question is: how long is he prepared to wait for Avens to get itself into a position for providing a day program? Mahsi.

Mr. Speaker, $18 million sounds like a lot of money, but in the context of the department's whole budget, it isn't. The fact is that the department is committed to providing a safe operating surface, and that's not what we have. Can the Minister give us an estimate of what it would actually cost to provide a safe operating surface from Yellowknife to Behchoko?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. As I said in my statement, the condition of Highway No. 3 from Behchoko to Yellowknife is a problem for residents, freight trucks, and tourists alike. This road has four times the traffic of any other highway in the NWT. My question for the Minister is: why doesn't the maintenance budget match the heavy use of this road? Thank you.

What I want to understand is whether the O and M and the additional capital costs of repairs are built into the total costs of this road right from now. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to talk about the condition of Highway No. 3, especially about the 100 kilometre section from Behchoko to Yellowknife. People in Yellowknife complain about this section of the road all the time, but by the reckoning of many drivers, the road was at its worse this summer since it was paved.

Highway No. 3 is not just another NWT highway. Forty per cent of all the kilometres driven in the NWT are driven on this section of Highway No. 3, or about 70 million kilometres a year. The drivers are residents, tourists, trucks resupplying the diamond mines, and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that the Minister does not want to advertise that the road is in terrible condition, but what if, in addition to the speed limits, there was some sort of information about permafrost degradation, like a sign in a roadside pull-out that explained what was going on with the road so that people had some understanding of why the road is a roller coaster? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I read a small section of an engineer's report on the road, and I see that it says it is settling. Climate change is making a difference in the temperatures, and the permafrost is thawing, and so on and so on. Is there no way for the government to make strategic investments to improve this road? I mean, the road really is terrible by anyone's estimation. Even within the confines of the melting permafrost, is there nothing more that can be done? Thank you.