Kieron Testart

Okay, thank you. I mean, it does sound more involved. And I wonder if there's a way we can work to expedite things or at least find a place to move, maybe an interstitial thing so it's not quite long-term care. I know we have that, but it's taking place in hospitals right now and that's leading to some of these issues.

Is the -- given that there's still a need for long-term care at these -- the Inuvik, Hay River, Yellowknife, does the department plan to reduce any of the long-term care spaces either through -- that's offered through the authority or that's provided privately or through NGOs? Is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the Minister has been -- the centres are asking for that so there's consistency, and that's reasonable. But why is it taking so long to get this grid together, Mr. Speaker? We're talking about slow government. This is a year, and the money is still sitting there. So are people doing this off the side of their desk, or is this a commitment -- or is this a focus of the department to get this out and get this money spent where it needs to support families with young kids? Because that's what this money's intended for, Mr. Speaker, and it's what this House voted for...

Thank you. So is this -- is this reducing the gridlock at Stanton I guess? Is that going to be a benefit to seeing these patients go? Because I understand many of those patients are in extended care at the Stanton Hospital. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to ask questions about our early childcare -- or early learning childcare arrangements. The Yellowknife Daycare Association is bringing concerns forward about funding. Day homes are bringing concerns about funding. I know the Minister is a passionate advocate of this. We've brought this up on the floor now. The issue is funding, there's not enough of it. How does the Minister intend to solve this problem? Thank you.

Thank you. So the process has started to admit people to those 17 beds; is that what I heard? I guess I'm looking for like out of 17, how many are filled? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it is often said it takes a village to raise a child, but what if that village didn't have access to the services and resources necessary for that child? Every community needs the right services for every age and every stage, and it's the responsibility of good governance to maintain the quality and access to those services. $10 a day daycare came in place -- it was announced in 2021 to be fully implemented in 2026. This is great. This ensures our constituents have access to childcare because for too long families have been priced out of these services in the North. These efforts...

And where are they incurring it? If we passed that section, my apologies. I'm just wondering, like, where we can see that represented in these estimates. Thank you.

Yes, thank you. Well, I mean, I don't think we'll have a satisfactory answer here. What I'm looking at is, like, are we going -- is this going to be a negotiation or is this going to be an ongoing negotiation around, like, is this program working for our constituents, or is it going to be we've decided it is, here's the information, good bye, right? Like, I'm seeing if there's a willingness from the Minister to work to reconsider this decision. Because, again, I appreciate the challenges of health care sustainability and all that goes into that, but benefits to constituents that lower the cost...

Thank you. Is this number inclusive, then, of the public administrator's salary and compensation? Thank you.

Thank you. I guess I -- I wish that had kind of been explained ahead of time because it's a very reasonable idea that, like, the changes to the system are just using other insurance providers first and that would, I think, help sell this a lot more. But that being said, some people I know who work as public servants are still paying more. So public health care insurance plans don't cover everything, and there's still a need for these extended health benefits. What would it take for -- like, what kind of assessment would it take to lower the cost -- or to restore the benefits to the place they...