Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Premier, the Minister responsible for the Executive. They are relative to the final report of the Coalition Against Family Violence, which was published on March 31st of this year. It was a result of about eight years of work.

The coalition was begun in 2003 and has been doing great work on behalf of our residents since then. They’re a group of 21 bodies, both NGOs and government.

There have been two action plans to date with regard to family violence, and the second phase will end in March of 2012. Phase three, a continuation of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

A full review of the act resulted in 71 practical recommendations for improving the system. Most were accepted, or accepted in principle, and await funding allocations to complete. Some initial steps were taken in the 2011-2012 budget, notably to establish child and family service committees in at least five more communities, and to expand the Healthy Families Program.

A number of other recommendations are advanced in the department’s strategic plan 2011-2015. The committee held public meetings in 10 communities. Expectations are high that changes will take place over...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to take some time today to comment on my time here at the Ledge. It’s certainly not 16 years. It’s only been four, and that’s quite short in contrast to the Premier, but I just have some comments that I’d like to make and summarize where I’m coming from today after four years here.

It’s certainly been an interesting four years, to say the least. I came to this job full of optimism and hope and looking forward to the new experience. I think I am a person who believes in planning, strategic planning, certainly, I think, is really important to me, and I...

Thanks to the Minister for his words of commitment, I think. I take it that he recognizes that there’s a lack of coordination. He indicated, I think, if I heard him correctly, that there needs to be some coordination and work done in the next Assembly, so people may be quoting Hansard from the 16th in the next Assembly.

Part of the answer that I got was that the Homelessness Interdepartmental Working Group develops programs. I’d like to know what activities in terms of developing programs that that working group has taken. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to be brief. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services and the Minister responsible for homelessness. In our last sitting in May I asked some questions about the GNWT Homelessness Strategy. The response from the Minister and follow-up from his office indicated that the development of a Homelessness Strategy and framework is being led by the Homelessness Coalition chaired by the City of Yellowknife. I was very surprised at that, and I asked for clarification from the office and I haven’t received it. I’d like to know from...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We assume in this country that universal health care, the timely access to affordable health services, improves the health of our socially disadvantaged groups. A while ago, research performed by a group at the Institute for Clinical Evaluation Services tested that assumption and found, as published in the journal “Health Affairs,” that the results of the study contradict our assumption.

The research team found that people with low income and/or low levels of education suffered from higher than normal incidences of cardiovascular disease, a not surprising and well-known...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister. I gather from his response that this interdepartmental group does not do program development. They simply seem to be reactive, if I understood him correctly. To the issue of the coordination and the work that needs to be done, I’d like to ask the Minister, if he is lucky enough to return to this House, will he make homelessness and the coordination of it a priority? Thank you.

I thank the Minister for that. That leads me to the question. We have a homelessness framework. It was developed in 2007. I’m given to understand that we are currently still following that framework, which is now rather outdated. I’d like to ask the Minister whether or not or he can advise me when there will be some plans in place to update that 2007 framework. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like today to recognize all the Pages who have been working so very hard for us in the last couple of weeks. I would especially like to recognize a constituent of Frame Lake, Jaida Brunet. Thanks to all of you for your work.

I am very pleased to hear that. I want to thank the Premier for that response. It’s coming at the last hour, but better that it come than it not come at all.

In this next period through the election period and through October until the next Assembly gets up and running, I’d like to know whether or not there are any activities relative to the development of this paper or the Anti-Poverty Strategy planned during the next several months. Thank you.