Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would argue that we have responded, maybe not to the Member’s satisfaction or to the degree that he would think acceptable, but as we balance the many priorities, dementia units, shortage of housing, the fact that we have a budget that has to meet its fiscal targets that have been set by the Minister of FMBS, that we have responded. We responded in the best way we can with the resources we have. If there is an interest, as I have indicated, I am prepared to sit down and talk to the Members. I am prepared to talk to the stakeholders and the communities...

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we have capacity at Stanton to do medical detoxification for alcohol and drugs. That’s what we have in place. It is not a formal withdrawal management unit but it is the capacity that we do have. There is also a social withdrawal program that is run through the Salvation Army and some local groups like Crack Busters that have started. If there is further more dedicated treatment, then we would be looking to southern jurisdictions if that is what is required, as we have done on a client-by-client basis so far. Thank you.

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, there will be contingency backup arrangements made out of Fort Simpson to fill in the service gaps on a temporary basis until we can rectify and staff these two positions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, back on August 18th the Member and myself and some other folks sat down in Fort Liard when we were doing a tour of the Nahendeh. We met with the chief and we talked about the concern about the alcohol and drug worker in the community which has been converted into a community wellness worker and a mental health and addictions counsellor that was being hired. Those are two separate positions. It was agreed at that time that there would be a staffing process initiated for the mental health worker. As well, we would be looking at filling the community wellness...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been on the table for some time. There’s another round of collective bargaining that’s going to be underway here and that will continue to be discussed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the renovations in Hay River are slated to go ahead. We are just in the process of concluding a report that’s been looking at the facility review of all the facilities in the Northwest Territories on the acute care side, the long-term care side and the usage and anticipated needs in the future. Once that report is done, we will be moving ahead with the actual master planning for the mid-life renovations in Hay River. Thank you.