Sandy Lee

Right now we have had, over the last number of years, two different care programs. We’ve had one in Yellowknife that the Member mentions and we have been running a pilot project outside of Yellowknife for smaller communities. The government would like to look at the whole program together, because the focus has to be in providing services to families who need the respite care program. I don’t think there is any question here about the importance, and advantage, and the benefit that those programs bring to the children and adults with disabilities and their families. I say it once again, that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t want to be rude, but the way this Member keeps interpreting what I am saying and me answering, it makes everything so confusing. I will just try to clarify this. As the Member knows, it is true we just went through the business plan process. There was a budget there for respite care. Yes, of course, I knew what was in there. The department knows what was in there. Like I said before, that money has nothing to do with YACL or respite care program for Yellowknife. I said that many times during the two weeks. That was money for respite care program for communities...

In situations like that, the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority, which is responsible for Tu Nedhe, would do an assessment on that individual and the family and provide either home care assistance, occupational therapy assistance, and work out a care plan for the family. Where there is a respite care program like Yellowknife, they could access those. But where there isn’t, home care and local health and social authorities would look to assist the family. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I’d like to thank the Members for Great Slave and Kam Lake for looking back in the record and reading statements that I made. I was, and I continue to be, an advocate for supporting persons with disabilities. I fought for and got the respite care program and I was grateful that the government implemented. As a Minister, I have worked to expand the respite program to communities outside of Yellowknife, and it is part of the Foundation for Change Action Plan.

Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate that there were some communications that really caused heartache to the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member knows that we just went through a preview of the business plan process for 2011-12. That is the normal process. We reviewed those with the Standing Committee on Social Programs. Mr. Speaker, I do admit that THAF and THSSI funding worked in a different process, because, as I said before, it is one large transfer from the federal government outside of the main budget, it had to come through supplementary appropriation.

With regard to going forward on this territorial respite care program, I would be happy to meet with the Members as soon as possible to discuss...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, on Monday I said that because, as the Member knows, the funding has sunsetted. It’s not in the books. It’s not there. THAF funding ended as of ’09-10.

We got extra money for two years for ’10-11 and ’11-12. We did planning for 2010-2011 through supplementary appropriation. The budget for 2011-12 has not been before this House. For the information of the public and everybody, when we go through the budgeting process, we work closely with the communities.

So, Mr. Speaker, I said what the Member said I said and those are accurate. The money has sunsetted. Thank you, Mr...

Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to do that. Thank you.

I don’t think this is a question of lack of detail. I think that I can explain the details. I don’t even know if I have enough time, Mr. Speaker. I have said it’s already been said that THAF was until 2009-10. We were able, and we were lucky, to get an extension of two years. The budget for 2009-2010 does not include THSSI funding. This is why it’s not called THSSI instead of THAF, and I keep telling the Member and he doesn’t want to believe me. He says there’s a lack of detail. He’s not accepting the answers. We just approved a supplementary appropriation approving THSSI, so we have a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue on this, I don’t believe, has to do with an agreement with Capital Health necessarily. It is true that when NWT residents need health care not available in the Territories, we usually go to Alberta and Edmonton, and it used to be called Capital Health, which now is Alberta Health. The issue here about the residents of Liard wanting to go to Nelson instead of Simpson or Stanton and then Edmonton, if that’s required, is that we already have a facility in Simpson and Stanton that we are paying for. If our residents are going to Nelson, then that’s extra cost that...

We should remember that our people are assisted in different ways and under different programs and by different professionals in varying degrees in our communities depending on their needs and the capacity in our communities. Respite care is not a solution to everything. There are some people who need more intense care than respite care. So we should remember that there are varying degrees of programs that are in line with the needs of the people.

Mr. Speaker, I state again to the Member that the department sees respite care and expanded home care as an important element in the delivery of our...