Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Madam. Chair. We would like to deal with Tabled Document 115-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2015-2016.

Thanks again to the Minister. The Minister mentioned the report and the 18 recommendations in the report and that they are doing some work on it. There are certainly several of them which I want to highlight. One I did already, but number two was to develop a standardized cancer care process, number seven, establish policies, protocols and mechanisms to ensure there’s good coordination and information flow among professionals, develop and implement breast cancer care after-care, which is something that we need in many different situations, and review the escort policy, which certainly Members...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services and I’d like to follow up on my statement about the breast cancer navigator position. I mentioned in my statement that the position has been empty for quite some time.

I’d like to ask the Minister, first off, if he could give me an update on what the department is doing to fill that breast cancer navigator position at Stanton. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Cancer is a word we hear all too often. Whether we’re just more aware of why people are getting sick now or whether there actually is more cancer amongst our people, it is ever present in our lives and none of us here in this room or elsewhere in our territory, none of us have remained untouched by cancer. It’s a scary business being diagnosed with cancer, and patients are often left to their own devices after a diagnosis.

Over the years, volunteers with the NWT Breast Health/Breast Cancer Action Group have worked very hard to provide supports for breast cancer patients...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question here with this CMAS Business Intelligence Project. It doesn’t indicate in the budget what program this is for, and I believe this project has been ongoing for a number of years. I just wondered: when will this project end? It looks like it is ‘16-17, but how much is going to be spent in ‘16-17 in addition to what we are spending this year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My comments are very similar to those of my colleagues and for good reason. I think we are all concerned about the amount of dollars that is in this section of the capital budget for this department. It is almost 25 percent of our operations budget, and yet, as has been stated, it’s less than 2.5 percent of the capital for this particular department. There is only one major project in this $6.4 million that the Minister just mentioned, and that’s renovations to the Lutselk'e Dene School. The other school projects are relatively minimal. There’s no reference in documents...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wish to report progress.

---Carried

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

Thanks to the Minister. I think it’s really an important topic and I think it’s probably a much bigger issue in Nunavut than it is here in the NWT, but we definitely have our problems here.

Another recommendation that was from this report talked about food programs for breakfast, school breakfast programs. My brain is still dead from yesterday, I guess. Breakfast programs in schools is something which the GNWT has put some emphasis on. I believe it is one of the things that is being considered by the Anti-Poverty Strategy Working Group.

I’d like to know from the Minister if that is indeed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister responsible for the Anti-Poverty Strategy. I mentioned in my statement that I would be asking him for an update. That’s my first question.

Can the Minister advise where we’re at in terms of our Anti-Poverty Strategy and Action Plan, what we are doing, what we have done and what we are doing? Thank you.