Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we’ve identified that early on as one of the potential impacts if the declining herd numbers remain down and there’s restrictions to the hunt placed on hunters, but we don’t have a definitive answer yet. We’ve identified that as an area that we want to pay some attention to as we move through the coming months and into the next winter. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been on my agenda now for the last year or so and I’m very committed to try to have these issues resolved in the life of this Assembly and a process initiated that’s going to allow us to lay out a plan of how we’re going to move to a more rational funded kind of arrangement where we recognize the costs and we work with the communities to come up with a service delivery model that is effective for different communities across the North. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we have to sort out a number of fairly complex issues, service provision, there’s a whole host of different models of what’s already in existence in the North and across different communities. There’s liability issues, there’s legislative issues that have to be addressed and there’s no one clear model to do this. So those are the type of issues we’re trying to come to grips with here in the next few months as we finalize that work. Thank you.

I’d like to thank the Member first about his kind words about how well Stanton is running under my Ministership. I can’t take full credit for that. Clearly, I have a strong Cabinet that supports me, the Members of the Legislature…

---Laughter

…and lots of good staff that does all the work. We have a system that I believe is functioning effectively and has been the result of a lot of hard work and consensus building, and I intend to continue with that arrangement. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I just reiterate my previous information, which is the current legislation allows for when there’s no board that the public administrator be appointed, which there has been, and that is the deputy minister. That is the legal arrangement that currently exists. Outside of that legislation we have the creation of the Joint Leadership Council, which I sit on with all the board chairs as does the deputy minister. But the legal arrangement is the CEO reports to the public trustee, which is in place and has been done by the current legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated to the Member earlier today, we intend to have the formal letters out, signed by the CEO of Stanton, inviting the elders from the regions to gather, so that we can start this process and start the good work to implement all the different facets and aspects of the aboriginal wellness and healing that we want to see incorporated first in Stanton and then across the system as we get better at this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have about $185,000 identified in this year’s budget and there is about a quarter of a million dollars identified for next year. Part of the plan is to get the advisory group of elders from the regions who will be working with Stanton to start laying out some of the things we want to do that are currently in existence or how we are going to possibly better enhance things that we are already doing. I know in other jurisdictions like Whitehorse, they have special arrangements for families, especially in palliative cases. That type of improvement is definitely an...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In point of fact, I believe the amount of money that was provided was $100,000 last year and if the Member will check unedited Hansard, I will say it again, the social envelope Ministers have worked together. We have put together a Homelessness Strategy. We are building things into our business plans. There are requests for funding in there and one of the items that has been identified as a need in Yellowknife have been the need that’s met by the SideDoor and that has been identified in the work that we’ve done, the documents that we have pulled together and that are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there has been extensive community consultation and I indicated to the deputy minister and the folks involved to keep contacting the community leadership and if we can't get hold of them, track all the efforts we've made to in fact get hold of them. So I will check with the department, but I will commit to the Member that I will have a copy of that report for him and for myself so we can go over it together before the end of this week. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In point of fact, I believe the amount of money that was provided was $100,000 last year and if the Member will check unedited Hansard, I will say it again, the social envelope Ministers have worked together. We have put together a Homelessness Strategy. We are building things into our business plans. There are requests for funding in there and one of the items that has been identified as a need in Yellowknife have been the need that’s met by the SideDoor and that has been identified in the work that we’ve done, the documents that we have pulled together and that are...