Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there has been some preliminary work done on that request but, as the Member knows, the herd is currently under quarantine and we’re waiting for some secondary test results to come back so that we can determine the future of the herd more definitively. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this facility will be renovated with the money that was in the budget initially when TTC was here. An initial plan a number of years ago was to renovate this one, and that figure is in the $3 million range. That money will be used to renovate Dene K’onia, and the estimates that we have from Public Works and Services are that it can be done for that money.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, for the most part I think the citizens of the Northwest Territories are treated as good as or better than their counterparts in southern jurisdictions, but the Member's point is a good one.

This is a recent program. The need has been there clearly for some time. We have acknowledged that need. We have taken steps to institute, as I indicated, a pilot. We are going to go through the evaluation process, but with an eye towards how do we continue or expand the program.

We have been getting or we are going to get significant amounts of money from the...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there are a number of factors that were discussed over the last few days. Very clearly, the government, as I stated in this House, has a position and a policy on decentralization and looking at trying to move things out of Yellowknife that is equitable, fair and spreads some of the government resources around. This program can be provided outside of Yellowknife. There is a community, Hay River, that has that capacity. The program is just going to be moved. It’s not being dismantled. It’s not being structurally changed. The contractor has indicated that...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, we always put people first, and this program delivered by Bosco Homes is going to be relocated to Hay River to provide the same service. We will have the same expertise that we currently have with Bosco Homes, the folks they can tie into with their broad network outside of the Northwest Territories. So there is no diminishment, in my opinion, in the program quality. We would definitely not jeopardize any northerner, any child, in care for any reason. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will go back and talk to the department to make sure they’ve taken every reasonable step, and then some, to talk to all the communities about putting in a proposal to access the resources to get a recycling plant going in the communities and look at what other options there are. If it’s not a full-blown recycling operation, maybe there is a first step required. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, dialysis is a requirement when you have been diagnosed with that need and it tends to be there for the rest of your life unless you get a kidney transplant. That’s somewhat different than the assessment and treatment services that TTC provides or Bosco provides through TTC, which are assessment and up to two years of possible treatment in a residential setting.

Madam Speaker, you can also look at the numbers in the North in a number of ways. Between 30 to 40 percent or 60 to 70 percent of those accessing the program were from communities outside of...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, we have a recycling initiative that’s going to be taking effect November 1st. I share the Member’s concern that littering in our communities is probably one of the most unsightly and stoppable issues that are before us and it’s a personal choice and an education issue. It’s an issue that plagues every community I’ve been in, my own included, where no matter how often cleanup is done, the next day there are bottles and cans and plastic bags and wrappers. It’s something that communities have responsibility for and that every person has a responsibility...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, they know what is happening. Unfortunately I don't have the current briefing note in my book, so I am unable to provide the level of detail that the Member would like. I have the staff looking for the most current information that I received from Stanton and will be happy to share that with the Member when I get it. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, part of the decision was to see whether there was a capacity in the community of Hay River to run this program, and there was; whether there was existing resources to do the capital renovations, which there was; and that it was a contract, which it is; and would it be an appropriate decision, and that was what was brought to Cabinet and that was a decision that was made to proceed with the relocation of Territorial Treatment Centre from Yellowknife to Hay River. Thank you.