Sandy Lee

The question is not whether or not we support or do not support what a municipal jurisdiction in another province is doing. What we are doing is we’re going to look after the patient safety of our northern residents. That’s our job, that’s what we are doing, and I am working, as the Minister responsible, for our residents, to make sure that our interests are protected.

I’ve said it many, many times and I say it again, and I don’t know if anybody… I don’t know. I’m on record on many, many occasions to say we are engaged. I am talking to Alberta Health Services. I am talking to the Minister of Health of Alberta, who is directly in charge of medevac services in Alberta and provision of services in Alberta facilities. The Premier has conveyed the government’s position to the mayor. My deputy minister is in communication with the assistant deputy minister of Alberta. We have a commitment from Alberta government that we are going to be part of the plan. We are...

Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe there was a question. I agree with the Member that this is very important to us and we are fully engaged. We are engaged at all appropriate and necessary levels, at the Minister’s level and at the official level. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, yes, indeed. We have invited the mayor to come up this summer. The mayor had committed to come up, but given that they were going through the election this September wasn’t going to be a good time. I was hoping that that could happen when the committee members were here.

Regardless, Edmonton as a municipality has made a decision to close that airport. It has been going on for many years. It started in a phased approach. The plebiscite was held 15 years ago. The recent election confirmed again the public position on that. My job as the Minister of Health and Social Services and this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I may, I would also like to recognize His Worship Denny Rodgers, the mayor of Inuvik, who is also a little brother of my first best friend when I moved to Yellowknife, Canada, 32 years ago. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my right is Ms. Lisa Cardinal, director of policy and planning and evaluation for the Department of Health and Social Services. To my left is Mr. Mark Aitken, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 8, Social Work Profession Act. This bill will regulate the profession of social work in the NWT and ensure that only qualified individuals will be able to call themselves social workers. It was developed collaboratively with the NWT Regulation Subcommittee of the Association of Social Workers in Northern Canada.

Social workers play a crucial role in the health and social services system and provide services to children, adults, families, groups, organizations and communities. This legislation is intended to protect the public by ensuring...

I’m doing exactly that, so I’m sure the Member agrees with what I am doing. Thank you.

Thank you. As the DM mentioned earlier, we have reviewed every health facility in the Territories in the last year. Many of our facilities are over 30 years old and I can advise the Member that Fort Resolution is one of the ones that needs major renovations. As well, Lutselk'e is one that needs to be looked at in short order. It will be part of the next cycle of planning studies going through the process in the next two or three fiscal years. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, all that work will have to be done when legislation is drafted, and in most circumstances in drafting legislation that governs professions, whether it be… I mean, we’ve had recent examples of social workers, but I remember NWT doing one for the architects and engineers. It’s a normal practice to look at what other jurisdictions are doing and to update the legislation and bring any new precedents that we should be considering.

So, in drafting new legislation, that will be done. Mr. Speaker, that would be a normal practice. Thank you.