Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was a strategy that was done, an action plan for persons with disabilities, and the response has been worked on by the government across departments that are involved in education, health, housing and MACA. That response has been built into the various business plans of the departments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the amount of time is obviously going to be dealt with on a case-by-case and need basis. There is no set formula that indicates an amount of time for specific concerns or issues or problems. So there are also the efforts that are going to continue on in terms of trying to expand the homecare services that are available to assist people to stay in their homes longer and more comfortably, but there is no set formula that dictates any given time. It is based on individual case need. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure the Member that I would never ever confuse her with anybody else.

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She doesn’t have to refer to me as Almighty; Michael is fine.

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She has raised a very specific issue from her information that she has obtained, so I will commit to follow up on the particulars of the two positions, but I would once again suggest that it is not because people don’t care, we have written it off, it is a waste of time. I would suggest that efforts are being made. There is funding for those positions for a reason, because those...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my job as Minister is to try to come up with some plans to, in a careful way, implement those plans after there has been proper consultation. We have done that with the mental health and addiction strategy. We responded to a fairly damning report in a state of emergency. We have committed to following the plan. We have implemented year one, year two. Year three is on the books. The Member now stands up in this House to say it has been a disaster. Let’s change that. I am saying, okay, if that is what you are thinking, then let’s have that discussion...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my recollection of the history of the Somba K’e is that they had an arrangement with Corrections Canada that was severed and that they were looking around for an alternate way to get funding. We did look at the facility. We did have people take a look at it from a technical and structural point of view initially for the possibility of a childcare facility. What came back was a number to bring the building up to appropriate code both structurally and from a program point of view of over $3 million, which exceeded the budget we had available to do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to have that debate about the best approach, the numbers, the need, and is it the best course of action and the best investment to build a separate, standalone facility, or is it best to look at expanding the service at Stanton, and what is possible in Hay River, Inuvik and Fort Smith. The money that is allocated in the capital plan is clearly identified for urgent capital projects across the Northwest Territories. We have yet to find out the final numbers of what is available from the federal government for the new health care money. When...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated in one of my previous answers, I welcome this debate and discussion. If there is a concern with the plan that was agreed to previously in terms of mental health and addictions, and there is a need to amend it after two years of having it in place, then I am prepared to look at that through the work with the Social Programs committee. As all the Members know, we have to plan around any kind of capital expenditures that may be decided on or agreed to and look at the capacity of the current facilities and the resources and the manpower. So if there is a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the record, I would like to note clearly that we pay very close attention to the reports from the chief coroner, and in fact we respond in detail to all the recommendations that pertain to Health and Social Services, as I did on January 20, 2003, and July 14, 2003, in regards to the two inquests and the findings. Both those referenced medical detox. I welcome the debate in this House and hopefully outside of this House the discussion about addictions and the best way to deal with addictions. We have chartered off on a course of action through our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is a fairly broad question. If it is to deal with house construction, if it is to deal with actual program delivery, if it is to deal with specific client concern in the school, all would have access to different funding arrangements, different funding pots that may exist. There is also federal government money that may be available to do with the disabled as well. So there is a range of funding agencies out there that could be accessed by the community depending on what the particular circumstance is. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a territorial organization for people with disabilities. In the communities, we have social workers and health care staff that work in the communities to assist people. We also have people in Income Support that work with people with disabilities. I know in housing-built units, they make them disabled-friendly where that is required in terms of ramps and such. I know when they designed the new seniors’ units, they are all designed to be disabled-useful and friendly. We have, across government, a number of services that are available for people...