Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a variety of resources, as the Member knows and has indicated, in her community. In Yellowknife there are a number of supported living situations, as well. There's capacity in Fort Smith, there's some capacity in Inuvik. It depends on the particular needs of the client involved, and it has to be done on a client-by-client basis, which is what we're doing. At this point we've had very senior staff in Edmonton for the last two to three weeks, working through this APYS situation. One of the issues that has come to light, as I indicated, is the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have over the last few years put nursing programs in place, we have social work programs, we are now doing registered care aid programs, we are going to put back into effect the community health representative programs, we are supporting students in post-secondary situations in medical school. So we have initiatives on a whole number of fronts in terms of trying to develop a northern workforce in these very specialized areas. So we still struggle with some of the psychiatric specialties, and those types of very advanced services, but we are committed...

Mr. Speaker, in relation to this particular instance, the primary, fundamental and initial concern is to make sure that once a decision is made about APYS, the transition to move clients into adequate facilities so they have the same kind of service level and resources they had previously is done. We’ve done that. I have indicated to this House, in the short term we are looking at the possibilities of some short-term repatriation of services we now have in the North. As well, we are going to look at the longer term, once again based on the individual client needs, to see what could be possible...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We would be happy to provide this House, to the Chair of Social Programs, the package of information that we have as it relates to Integrated Services in Edmonton and the various components of the programs and services they offer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my opinion we gave appropriate consideration to all the people involved in all of the organizations and institutions involved in this particular issue, and it has been a relatively fluid situation and some things have possibly been overtaken by events. But at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, Nunavut, as I indicated, pulled their clients in March, the Alberta government as well pulled their clients. Our obligation is to ensure that the safety and service that we were buying, and the safety of our clients was ensured, and we’ve taken steps to do that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a government we do have an obligation to ensure that the services that we purchase, that the clients that we place in other jurisdictions are adequately cared for within that jurisdiction, that their safety and well being is protected, and we’ve taken steps to do that. When we considered the decisions we made, we looked at all the information that was there available. We have had staff down there for a number of weeks, we have been working with the Alberta government, the Public Guardian’s Office, and when the decision was made it was based on all the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to provide the Member, through the Social Programs committee, with all the information we have as it pertains to the alcohol and drug and mental health strategy, all the information she has requested both as it applies to the community wellness workers and the mental health workers. As well, I would be happy to extend the offer for a briefing to the committee to discuss the situation and any other concerns that they may have resulting from the review of what has been implemented to date, which is now in year two. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, part of this process, which was supposed to be a good news story, was to recognize it. In many cases, there were incumbents in positions and incumbents who had been practising for years, incumbents with an often wide array of different training, education and skills. We want to recognize that. If my memory serves me correctly, I made a commitment in this House last week that the intent is not to lay people off. We would have a grandfathering or arrangement here, as well as doing past learning assessments on incumbents. We are in the process with the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that all affected seniors were given a direct mail-out as were all pharmacies, but I will commit here today to ensure that the information has gotten to its destination and ensure that the information of how the changes are to be implemented are in the areas where they are supposed to be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we did consider that. We also considered the fact that there is a host of other significant other related information tied into compliance and monetary issues, as well as some program issues. We recognize that clearly there was strong support for the program by clients, and that some of the professionals involved in the day-to-day work with clients spoke highly of the programming work that was being done there. But the reality for us, Mr. Speaker, is that there are other issues and variables that have significant bearing as well on the situation, which...