Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my right is Deputy Minister Debbie DeLancey, Health and Social Services. To my left is the assistant deputy minister, Derek Elkin, Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Although there is no plan to build a long-term care facility in Aklavik or Fort McPherson, we will continue to work with the Housing Corporation. We’ve done some initial work with the Housing Corporation in trying to provide assisted living to individuals to remain in both of those communities. I think that the Housing Corporation does have money to renovate the Joe Greenland and also to provide a stand-alone building that they would call assisted living. What Health has to do is to find the O and M to support the seniors that are going to be in there. So we are in the...

Yes, we are prepared to look at that. We are looking at that very closely. We think it’s very beneficial to the government and the seniors across the North, if we were able to provide supports for individuals to remain in their home.

The Department is willing to come back to the House to try to provide long-term care beds in Hay River to pick up the needs that are going to be created by closing down long-term care beds in H.H. Williams.

Right now we have an expansion to a facility, the closest facility that’s being expanded is Fort Smith. However, it is likely that those beds will all be used up by Fort Smith citizens, but it’s quite possible that we could use that as an overflow, if the beds were not available in Hay River. But the intention would be to make the beds available in Hay River if that was at all possible.

Depending on the level of need, after independent living we can offer supported living, which is more home support, home care programs, going into people’s private homes, or into public housing, or into senior citizens’ homes. Also, there is assisted living, which is like people that are in some of the seniors homes where there are people supporting them to live in the home. Then from the assisted living, if need be, there’s an opportunity for individuals on a need basis to go into long-term care and extended care and so on.

We’re coming forward with the business case for the three authorities that have requested – the two authorities and the agency, Tlicho Community Services Agency – to provide flexibility in their funding.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my right is Debbie DeLancey, deputy minister of Health and Social Services. To my left is Derek Elkin, assistant deputy minister of Health and Social Services.

Mr. Chair, based on the assessment, we determine what is needed. Generally there is usually one room needed, even if it is used frequently. There is only usually one room needed. If there is a need for a second room to be added for this use, then we would incorporate a second room into either a renovation or a new design, depending on the need.

I think part of our business is to try to… We are looking at having an actual youth treatment program. An example of something we looked at was having a summer program in, say, Nats’ejee K’eh. If that was the facility we chose to continue to fund, then maybe having one program per year where we would treat youth.

Youth – I think I was not clear – are usually court ordered or forced to go to treatment by their parents. There are very, very few that ever volunteer. That’s anywhere in the country. There are very few youth that actually volunteer to go to treatment.

The Member is right; this is in the Inuvik Regional Hospital. We will be incorporating this into the Hay River Health Centre and also into the renovations that would be… We would plan it into the renovations of Stanton.