Tom Beaulieu

All of the requirements that are in for a home, a long-term care facility, will be met. Individuals that are working there will be trained. The exact timeline, the schedule is that there will be some construction this summer, and then continuing on probably, if the unit is closed, in that there will be further construction until finished the following season.

I do believe the facility is scheduled to be finished at the end of the 2014-15 fiscal year. So through this coming fiscal year and being finished over the next fiscal year, with a full staff complement that’s needed to provide the service...

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

Today I would like to speak about the passing of a good friend of mine, Henry Fabien of Fort Resolution. Henry was born September 23, 1948, and passed away on December 3, 2012. Henry was the third son of Albert and Rose Fabien.

Henry was a loving son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend. He had the utmost respect for anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. Henry loved going out on the land. He enjoyed hunting and trapping during his lifetime. He took many hunting trips, trapping trips with his friends and relatives.

Henry...

I can keep the Member in the loop. There is no issue there. I’m hoping that this is a facility that will retain at least the number of beds that are in there, whether it’s the acute care or the long-term care beds, that the facility will be at least the size of the facility that is there now. Because the population of the people all across the country is not… The population is getting older and we do need that facility to be up to pace and not scheduled to go down. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been dealing with the infrastructure people at Health and Social Services, and I’ve recognized that we’re, I think, at the very, very initial stages of looking at the health centre replacement in Fort Simpson. I don’t think it’s scheduled to be replaced within the next five years. Thank you.

I don’t have any indication here that the Foster Parents Coalition travels; however, they do work with the various authorities at the regional levels to provide support, proper ways to retain foster children, and they provide some training. They also advocate for the foster parents. This is a group that does support foster parents right across the entire territory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has a program called PRIDE. It’s the Parent Resources for Information Development and Education. That is a program that the foster parents are under in order to be trained as foster parents.

Decisions made by medical practitioners, I suppose they would have that discretion.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The policy is essentially the safety of the individual that’s being transported as a first priority. So usually when there is room on a medevac, an individual, depending on the nature of the injury or the sickness of the patient, generally if there’s an opportunity or a vacancy within the plane, it’s usually filled by a health practitioner. That’s generally the policy, that if there’s an escort required or someone that needs to be with the patient, that person gets flown in on the next available flight. Thank you.

I can assure the Member that, yes, there will be training. Right now the facility in Behchoko is under construction, and we need to train staff there, as well, as we’ll be expanding from an eight bed facility to an 18 bed facility also in Behchoko. So the nursing and the home care, and all of the workers that are needed to operate the facility in both places will be trained, and I can assure the Member that the staff will be up and ready to go by the time the facility opens. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The long-term facility in Norman Wells, as the Members know, is well underway. All of the planning is complete. It’s a matter of doing the construction phase. I think the land has also been decided upon. That was a little bit of an issue. Also, the plan is to have, at the time the health centre/long-term care facility is open, everyone that is going to be working there trained. Thank you.