Wendy Bisaro

The NWT has been the beneficiary of federally funded FOXY programming, and in the absence of that federal funding next year, it is incumbent on the GNWT to fill the financial void, to find the funding necessary for FOXY to continue. This is a successful program, one that serves NWT youth – and that’s a stated goal of this 17th Assembly – and it is a program that is growing. It would be a crime to let this program fade away. As business plans are being finalized, I urge Cabinet to find the funding for this worthwhile program. If FOXY ends next April and we have sat idly by doing nothing to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have one comment to make with this expenditure. It’s that this dollar amount has stayed the same for too long. I’ve mentioned this before. The needs of communities are constantly increasing. I know the needs of this government are increasing, as well, but I would urge the Minister to do what he can to get this amount for capital infrastructure in our communities increased.

We have devolved a lot of buildings to our communities through the New Deal over the years. Many of them were not new buildings; they were the older buildings. Therefore, they either need...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We wish to consider Tabled Document 115-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2015-2016.

Thanks to the Minister for that. I would hope that it would also be shared with the NWT Association of Community members and I suspect he meant that as well. They are public, after all.

The study is going to be done this winter. Winter is, unfortunately, eight months and I’m wondering if the Minister could give me a bit of a tighter definition of when this study might be done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I want to return to one of my pet peeves, my pet issues, and that would be the implementation of 911 in the NWT or hopefully just Yellowknife to start.

The last time I asked some questions about 911, I believe I was advised by the Minister that there was a study in the works. They were doing another study based on a study or studies that had been done by the City of Yellowknife. So I’d like to ask the Minister initially if he can give me an update on that study.

Are we anywhere near...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister I would suggest since he didn’t say that they have replied to the report from the Breast Cancer Action Group I would take that as a no.

My last question is my usual time question. I’d like to ask the Minister when can we expect to have this cancer coordinator position filled. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for the update. I can appreciate that the coordinator will have an advocacy role, but I would stress that I believe that the navigator position is a lot closer to a patient than the cancer care coordinator is going to be. Just the very name “coordinator” removes it from the actual patient who is in a position to need the help.

One of the recommendations from the Breast Health/Breast Action Cancer Group was to expand the navigator position to the regions and to patients, patients with other cancers. So I’d like to ask the Minister if that is anywhere in the thinking of the...

Not only do the breast cancer patients need a cancer system navigator but patients diagnosed with any kind of cancer need the special help a navigator can provide. Staffing the one position we’ve identified should be a top priority. The Minister of Health and Social Services must find a way to ensure that all cancer patients get the support they need immediately after diagnosis.

I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to further clarify, this part of CMAS applies right across the whole Department of Education, or is it specific to a certain area? That’s what I was trying to get at in the beginning.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. One thing I forgot to mention is this department, which is about 25 percent of our total operations budget, has $6.5 million in capital expenditures and the Department of Transportation – and I don’t know what percentage of our operations budget – has $112 million. So we seem to have a far larger priority on roads than it is on the education of our young people, in my mind.

I just wanted to say to the Minister that the Minister recognizes with the French schools that there’s a problem. He says he knows it’s coming. I heard him say earlier that he wants to move or the...