Julie Green

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the one facility that I am more familiar with is Nats'ejee K'eh.

Nats'ejee K'eh was never more than onethird full during the time that it was open, and the program cycled through 30 days for men and 30 for women. And so if you wanted to seek treatment and they were early into the opposite cycle, then you would have to wait potentially seven to eight weeks for intake. There was a problem attracting and keeping qualified staff. So what we found is that since we started contracting the southern facilitybased treatment, the number of people who are accepted...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in response to the Office of the Auditor General's report, we created a work plan which details our response to each of the recommendations, and we accepted all the recommendations.

We have, as the Member may know, a whole division within the department called community culture and innovation that looks at culturally appropriate services. And to that end, they've done extensive training with staff. They ensure that there is when people do go south for facilitybased treatment that there is appropriate cultural safety provisions in place. So that's just...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for that question. The way that the referrals work now is that we have an agreement with Alberta Health Services to provide, as a first response, care and services in Edmonton and the associated support services, such as the Larga Boarding Home and medical travel contracts and so on, all support that Edmonton location. I don't have any information about the relative waiting lists of Edmonton versus Calgary, which would be an important dimension to consider here. And also another thing to consider would be whether Alberta Health Services would provide the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. The medical travel program has a number of reviews ongoing in this fiscal year, and that includes the per diem rate, which we've been referencing here, and mileage rates, as well as the exceptions policy, the escort criteria, a number of formal definitions such as "nearest centre" and the air ambulance transportation policy. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to report to the Member that the department has a jump on this. Our infrastructure staff have met with the Town of Hay River to talk about an alternate site, and the leading contender is a site called Sun Dog which is adjacent to the new health centre which did not flood in the spring. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I see that Doreen Cleary is in the gallery, and I would like to acknowledge her and welcome her to the House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason for the delay has to do with the flood. The flood, while it didn't flood Woodland Manor, made services, water and sewer services, unavailable to the site, and as a result all of the residents had to be removed and relocated to other locations. And so we need to choose a site for the longterm care which is not subject to those risks. It is very difficult to move elders in an emergency. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I've learned in the two years that I've been in this role is that people want options when it comes to achieving their sobriety. They want the option of being on the land, in the community. In order to protect their privacy and not to engage with people who are also from the NWT, they want the option to go to different places. So what I've learned is that choice is really important. Telling people they have one place and only one place and one way to go for treatment has not been successful. And just as a matter of clarification, Nats'ejee K'eh was...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member better watch out or maybe by then I'll be a personal support worker helping him get in and out. So just pray that doesn't happen.

So what we've been able to do to supplement home care is provide funding for three additional positions in the last two years so that there is more staff available because, in fact, there are greater demands for that. The detail there is that's two home care nurses and a home support worker. The additional nursing position has enabled us to create more hours of service. So the service hours are now 8:30 to 4:30...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the cost estimate that is currently available has a contingency built into it. But there's a very important "but." If the site changes and it is no longer going to be where the old HH Williams Hospital was and it's now going to be over near the new health centre, getting the land ready for the construction has not been factored into that cost and so those costs may, in fact, rise. Thank you.