Shane Thompson

I thank the Minister for his answer. I realize we live in the Northwest Territories, but, again, if a contractor is not providing the services, we need to make sure we do deal with that. Has the department approached the contractor or have they approached the Department of Infrastructure to help get this situation fixed?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that. We've given these positions to the authorities and they make a decision if it's on a casual basis or indeterminate position. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the past four months, I have heard a number of issues with the contractor that provide medical travel from Fort Simpson. I have heard of flights being delayed, rerouted, and even cancellations. This is not good for our residents. I have heard about at least 15 situations in this time. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share a couple of stories here today.

On New Year's Eve, the flight from Yellowknife to Fort Simpson return was cancelled. The airline decided to provide a different flight route, starting from Edmonton to Yellowknife via Fort Simpson via Inuvik. This meant...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I did propose the question to you, but not on the floor. You're working on the two that are not filled, are they actually being filled in casual positions right now or is it just vacant right now? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm hoping this is right. The home support workers, is it this section that we need to be in here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a quick yes or no answer from the Minister first: child and youth mental health is in this section here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 90, I see field operations, and it has gone down. I guess the Minister is going to like my question; it is going to be about moose in my riding and that. My concern is that, in my riding, we do not see a lot of wildlife officers out there during the weekend and so, with this cut, will we be able to see an increase in people out monitoring hunting on the roadside? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the Minister for that answer and the commitment to make sure that all Territorial Sport Organizations have a process and are following that process.

Mr. Speaker, living in the North, does the Government of the Northwest Territories and especially the department realize that weather can sometimes interfere with the schedule? Therefore, does the department have a contingency plan in place to ensure that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete for a spot on the team? I.e. using modern technology, other personnel, et cetera, et cetera.

Thank you to the deputy minister for that answer. From my understanding in talking to people, it is a little bit different. I am hearing a different story. There are some concerns in this area. I understand the cross-training, but I think putting these two positions in the same building and same department would be more efficient.

I guess, if we are not going to allocate moving positions around, is the department willing to work with the Department of Lands and maybe house the water officers with the Lands officers in the same building so that they can work together and work on files that way...

Thank you, honourable Member from the Deh Cho, and thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Social Development recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services enhance its public communications on addictions treatment.

The committee suggests that this might be accomplished through communications initiatives. They would include plain-language documents describing an individual's path through each contracted facility; profiles or testimonials of participating Northerners, with any necessary concessions to privacy and confidentiality; and the plain-language...