Julian Morse

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, inspired by a few of my colleagues yesterday, I just wanted to stand up and make a short statement today just about the increase anxiety and stress occurring for 2SLTGBTQIPA+ people south of the border, and I wanted to stand up and make a statement expressing my support and my solidarity for this community here in the territory.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen that we in Canada are not immune to the shift that's happening. Some jurisdictions are beginning to introduce legislation which I've heard is making transgender youth feel unsafe. Mr. Speaker, I have...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't actually have any questions. I just have a quick comment, and I just wanted to compliment the Speaker and the clerk on a good job following a fiscally responsible budget. I know that, you know, the Speaker got hit with a meme or two on our favorite Yellowknife memes page but nevertheless managed to pull out a fiscally responsible budget, and I'm happy to see it. I don't have any questions for the Speaker or his staff. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Frame Lake is happy to boast that we have a young page in the House today, Mr. Jacob Couture is here, so thank you to him for all his work and all the pages, of course. And I'm not sure if he's actually still up there, but I saw a constituent, Matt Halliday, who is the new Chamber of Commerce executive director. He's had a busy job in front of him the past couple of weeks. So good to see him in the gallery. There was a couple other constituents who were in the gallery for the Budget Address but quickly disappeared. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to see, as part of that work, an analysis of whether the territory could save some of the money that's being spent on out-of-territory service for the reasons I spoke to today. Does the Minister have a timeline for the Assembly as to when she expects to see the conclusion of this investigation? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And certainly I look forward to seeing the results of that further investigation. Mr. Speaker, how much is the GNWT currently spending on sending clients for short-term or respite-related stays in the south? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last sitting I raised the issue of respite care in the territory and confirmed with the Minister of health that the department is reviewing its delivery of respite care. I've since met with some constituents and received feedback about some things that we could be doing differently.

Mr. Speaker, currently, the territory is spending a significant amount of money on out-of-territory care. Each individual who is sent south costs anywhere from 30 to $50,000 per, month, or more, which adds up to $600,000 per year per person. In total, the program is costing us...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I certainly don't have as nearly as passionate opinion on this one as my previous colleagues but I would just say that, you know, as a Member of the committee, committee had a discussion about this, made the recommendation that we did and, you know, I was in favour of it there, and so I'll support it here and would just note that I think my experience of referrals of matters -- sorry, of Members' statements to Committee of the Whole so far is that a bunch of them have been referred. We've yet to actually debate one. It does seem like something that is not a big issue...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I do appreciate that clarification. Mr. Speaker, has the GNWT explored options before for programs such as income supports or grants for families supporting persons with disabilities to organize their own in-home services or respite care? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just to clarify, I misspoke earlier. I meant that I would be asking questions of the Minister of ECE at a later time; she's clearly not here today. But my questions for today are for the Minister of health.

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of health have information regarding how many people receiving out-of-territory care are due to lack of ability of an in-home caregiver as opposed to complex needs that simply can't be addressed in the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I mean, I can't speak for other Members. For myself, I think the amendment is simple and straightforward enough that I don't personally require it in writing. I just that that was a rule. But if we're okay, I'm happy to move forward and speaking to the amendment, I'm supportive of it.