Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, that concludes our consideration of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Thank you to the committee, and thank you to the Minister.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the chamber. Thank you.
Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 385-20(1), 2026-2027 Capital Estimates, Department of Health and Social Services. Order.
Does the Minister of Health and Social Services wish to bring witnesses into the chambers?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.
Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber.
Would the Minister please introduce the witnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Joining me today I have from the Department of Health and Social Services I have Kristen Berg, assistant deputy minister of corporate service and cultural safety. And on this side, I have Mr. Chris Clarke, director of infrastructure planning. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The committee has agreed to forego general comments. Is the committee agreed to proceed to the details contained on the tabled documents; does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Okay, thank you. Committee, I'm going to the Department of Health and Social Services beginning on page 40. We will defer the department totals and review the estimates by activity summary, beginning with health and social services programs found on page 42 with information items on page 43 and 44. Are there any questions? I'm going to go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So if you look at page 44 in the breakdown of the project listing, it includes the children's territorial treatment centre. Can the Minister please provide a substantiation and breakdown of what is going on for that project? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.
Thank you. So here the Department of Health and Social Services is recommissioning the territorial treatment centre facility which closed in late 2021. This project will provide cost-effective accommodation for at-risk youth. The recommissioning work includes improvements to the washrooms, water damage, mold remediation, upgrading the kitchen, purchasing new furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the bedrooms, kitchen, and livingroom area, and replace and upgrading the flooring throughout the facility. The updates will ensure that the building meets current health and safety standards. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. I'm going to go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Minister. Can you tell me -- gosh, how much that is for that line item; how much is estimated? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As these go out for tender, we do not disclose the actual amounts. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Are those RFPs, tenders, etcetera, already selected and completed, or is work underway? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay. Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's the process that we're in right now, is that if we can pass this through the capital budget, then come springtime we'll be able to put those out to RFP.
Okay, thank you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Minister for that. I also, within this section, was curious if the Minister -- it says here for the wellness and recovery centre, on page 43, that the estimated completion is within fiscal 2026-2027. Are we still on the timeline for that particular asset? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.
Yes, we are still on track for that.
Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's all for now. I'll cede my time. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any further questions from Members? I'm going to go to the Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just on the wellness and recovery centre, I'm just wondering does the Minister have an idea of how we're going to cover the cost for operations of that centre knowing it's a new piece of infrastructure. Do they have estimates for how much staff we might have to add, or are we going to have to add staff in order to be able to operate that facility?
Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Currently -- sorry, I'm just trying to find this. Oh, right there.
Okay, so currently the wellness and recovery centre being built is going to replace the day shelter and the sobering centre. And so the funding that we have allocated for those two facilities will be used to run the operations of this facility. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I'm going to go back to the Member from Frame Lake.
It sounds to me like we don't have -- or how do I put it. So the expectation is there won't be any additional staffing needed, there won't be any additional resources needed to operate this facility based on what we know right now?
Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the programming and the operations of this area, kind of through the work that we're doing is that we're working -- we're going to be working closely, I think, with housing, and they would be taking over through the homelessness file and we would be moving back as being the health supports that are going to be needed. And so once we get this open and operational, then that collaboration between health and housing will have to continue to see what type of services and programs that are going to be needed to continue to run that program or if there's going to need to be further. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. I'll go to the Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's all my questions for now.
Thank you. Next on my list I have is the Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to delve more into the children's territorial treatment centre to understand where this is going.
So my understanding is that we had a children's territorial treatment centre that closed in October of 2021. It was an eight-bed facility, and that was due to the contractor we had at the time not being able to operate the facility or find enough staff or with the budget they were given. Are we talking about the same building that closed in 2021 or a different building? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'm going to go to Minister.
Yes, it's the same building. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. So does HSS now have a contractor willing to operate the treatment centre, or at what stage in the process are they going to ensure that there's an operator in place? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Right now, we need to get the building up and running before we could even get into conversations with moving to how we're going to operate the building. I know we do know we need the facility as child and family services are supporting youth in different ways, and so to be able to open up this facility and come up with a plan to how we're going to operate it, either whether it's internal or through an NGO, that will come at a later date. Right now what we're focusing on is getting the repairs done so that the building is up to code. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Yellowknife North.
Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. So that is good to know. I'm certainly -- I certainly agree with the Minister that we need this service and that the closure left a big gap. We need a treatment centre for minors, for children. Can the Minister explain, is the plan to operate it as an eight-bed facility as it was operating before it closed, or is there, like, a new model of operation that would mean that the building would somehow be designed differently or offered different types of services, or are we essentially just trying to renovate it and get it to be offering the same types of services that it was doing before it closed? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Right now, as it stands it would be open to nine beds, and we would be operating it as we did before. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I'll go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
