Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to start by saying I'm glad to see the increase in funding to the seniors fund. I think that's always worthwhile and just hope that there's also a mandate for a push alongside of that to ensure that the services are expanding out into the communities and are not just Yellowknife-focused, especially with additional money. I did notice that the respite fund -- maybe I could just first ask: there's a bit of a bounce around in numbers there, and perhaps, maybe the Minister of the department can speak to why the actuals were so low in 2019-2020 versus the...

Great. I'm a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel, and like I said, it could be a good PR move for Google. The deadline for the MAP applications that I mentioned in my statement was November 20, 2020. Can the Minister speak to the uptake of this program and what the success rate of applications was? How many pairs of mentors and apprentices do we have?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of ECE. When I was lucky enough to be able to still travel through Europe, I used Google Translate a lot to order food and not get myself lost. My question for the Minister: is there an online translation tool such as Google Translate to assist students in oral proficiency of Northwest Territories Indigenous languages? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No. I think that I am good, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to give the department a kudos in that, when I had surgery in Edmonton, I was actually told that we get in very high on the list over Albertans because the Northwest Territories pays their bills very well and on time, so I always thought that was kind of an interesting comment. I just want to know if maybe you could explain, if the department could explain to me or the Minister -- and this is just my own knowledge. We just have a line item here for the Health and Social Services Authority funding on page 190, and I am just curious to know: what function do...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And then, of course, just go back into the general revenue? I see nods. Okay. Thank you. I just want to reiterate maybe some concerns I have heard with repatriating people to the North, and I just would like to throw my support around. That seems to be a really hot topic and one area that I would like us to be working more towards. Maybe the Minister could speak to the fluctuations of the fees and payments line item. There is a $50 million line item in 2019 for the actuals, but then we have an estimated of almost $36 million, and for our year coming up, it's at $40...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just curious to know, when I look at the addictions treatment facilities costs, in the actuals for 2019-2020, it was $2.4 million. We have estimated we will probably be just under $2.1 million this year. Can the department or the Minister speak to how realistic that is? Do we anticipate changes to these numbers because some of the facilities have shut down, and perhaps there's maybe a reluctance for people to go south? Do we think we are going to spend that $2 million? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am glad to hear that, too. I get that there is a certain degree of technical expertise that is required for certain types of facilities. However, even if it's a matter of a senior who has a dilapidated home and, therefore, now they are getting moved out of it into a long-term care facility, if they don't need a large degree of care, I don't see why we can't have a lesser, sort of, care worker or lesser-educated care worker there to help them. That's great, and I look forward to learning more about the paid caregiver pilot program. It never made sense to me that we make...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm really glad to hear it's not disappeared for the upcoming year. When I look at the disabilities fund and then the respite fund, as well, just being a little less and such, I'm just wondering, as we see a change in how long-term care facilities are looked at as a result of COVID and then, as well, our mandate and priority to age in place, I'm just wondering if the department is tracking potential trends in keeping seniors at home or people with disabilities at home as opposed to group home situations and whether or not we're going to have to increase funding in these...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to learning more about the mentorship program and its success. Lastly, I would like to know if there have been any modifications or issues with administering the program due to COVID-19 restrictions? Thank you.