Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess I will have to figure out what document we’re talking about there.

My concern with the capital needs assessment for the capital planning process is that it only looks at existing buildings, and my concern is with the need to fill in this gap for assisted living as there is no indication in this document for any accommodation of persons who need assisted living with supervision.

I agree with the Minister that institutions should be the last place that people go, but certainly there should be some planning, in my mind, for homes, whether they be homes that are owned...

I wasn’t necessarily asking for institution. I’d like to know if the Minister is referencing the capital needs assessment, the 20-year capital needs assessment. It’s a summary of all departmental needs. If that’s the document the Minister is referring to, yes, I have that, but I had understood her to be referencing a facilities needs study just for Health and Social Services. Could I get a clarification on which document she’s referencing? Thank you.

Thanks for that clarification. I have a general question regarding facilities and capital expenditures and so on. I presume this is the right place to make it.

Mr. Chairman, if you want me to wait until the summary comes up, I can, but I wanted to ask a question about the 20-year facilities needs study that the Minister mentioned earlier today and that has been mentioned in other conversations prior to today. I’d like to know if that study is complete. If so, when can Members get a copy of it? If it’s not complete, when is it expected to be done?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker I need to ask the Minister, if there is a plan in the works, then that plan presumably has some detail in it. I’d like to know what the detail is in that plan relative to beds. When can the Minister tell me that there will be more beds for assisted living adult children needing assisted living in Yellowknife? When can I expect to see more beds? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister. I have to say that I don’t believe those were my words, but that may have been how they were interpreted.

I do commend the government for the work that has been done to provide assisted living facilities, but there is an evident need, particularly in the city of Yellowknife where about 50 percent of our population lives. We do have an expanding population of adult disabled children who need supervision and need assisted living. I’d like to ask the Minister what the department’s plans are for the future. How will the department accommodate those adult disabled children...

The Department of Health and Social Services, working with the NWT Housing Corporation, can develop the necessary assisted living facilities for these vulnerable residents of our NWT society before it is too late.

I will have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Now I’m really confused. Are we finished constructing a new centre? If so, why are we conducting preliminary consultations and preliminary design guidelines for a new visitors centre? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a quick question with regard to the two projects for the Sixtieth Parallel Visitor Information Centre. One of them references preliminary design and design guidelines, the other one talks about interior interpretive signage for the facility. In the backup documentation that we got on the second project, on the interior displays, it talked about the new facility being built, I think, in this year, which I don’t think is accurate. But if I could just get an explanation as to the difference between these two projects, please. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I have to ask the Minister what that one refers to. Is it this document which I have in my hand, which is labelled Summary of Departmental Needs, Capital Needs Assessment, 20 Years, Five-Year Capital Planning Process? Thank you.

I’d like to know from the Minister when that was sent. My concern is that, and I’m kind of following up from the discussion that I had with the Minister earlier today with regard to housing and facilities for adult disabled residents who need supervisory care, assisted living and so on. I didn’t get a sense from the Minister that this plan has any specific buildings or facilities identified for that sort of care. I guess I will wait until I see the plan to ask further specific questions, but if the Minister could advise when that plan was sent to committee and, I guess, also if the Minister...