Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, May 16, 2011, I will move that Bill 20, Vital Statistics Act, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Neither department is withdrawing from the committee. What we’re doing is suggesting that there be a more appropriate change of status that would allow them to get more involved in a more effective way.

I’m not familiar with that request and I’ll have to do some work to find out what exactly the status is, so I will take that question as notice.

There was some funding available in the budget that was recently passed to look at expanding respite services outside of Yellowknife. It was a modest amount of money, but it was a start. As I’ve indicated in this House to the many questions that we’ve had and requests for program enhancements, be it midwifery or addiction services or other facilities to be built or other program areas, as we all know, as I indicated in my fiscal update as Minister of Finance, we have significant fiscal constraints that precludes us at this point from engaging in any significant new program expansions. Keeping...

Yes, I can provide that information to the Member and I’d be happy to do that.

Thank you. That’s a detailed, technical question and I will take it as notice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue about confidentiality and the need to protect confidentiality when dealing with constituents and clients has been there. As we do business, it’s become more formal as the legislation across the land has been tested about breaches, about information getting out without people’s knowledge. It has become a greater issue and it’s a way to try to standardize the approach so it’s consistent across government. The consent form has been developed in an attempt to try to have that balance not to impede the work of MLAs so much as to make sure that people and...

Yellowknife has the best selection of services of any community in the Northwest Territories; things like the SideDoor. We have all the Health staff, Social Services staff that are here, the counselling agencies that are here, the health services at Stanton that are here. They have all the other network opportunities that are here. You have all the other access as well of some of the opportunities that I indicated earlier through other non-profit NGOs, as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Firstly, I’d indicated that I believe that in almost every community, if not every community, there are places to turn. There are your parents. There are your relatives. If there are health officials, if there are social service people, if there are teachers, if there are other people that work in the community, there’s your clergy that may be available, that we have those resources. The issue that the Member asks about in terms of the example he raised, I don’t have the full details, but I would assume that there’s an age issue and that the individual, the youth is old...

Mr. Speaker, I’m not quite sure of the structure of this committee compared to, say, an interagency committee, if it, in fact, exists. My understanding of most interagency groups that I’ve been familiar with is that it ebbs and flows and gathers around projects or specific issues to try and resolve situations at a committee level. In this case, it’s an arrangement that we think is not harsh or overly dramatic. We think it’s a measured, careful, thoughtful response, and coming up with a solution very similar to the solution put forward by the Member for Great Slave as a way to keep everybody...