Thank you, Mr. St. Germaine. Mr. Henry, your time has expired. Are there further questions from Members? Mr. Erasmus.
Debates of April 28th, 1999
This is page numbers 397 - 430 of the Hansard for the 13th Assembly, 7th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was chairman.
Topics
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 422
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 422
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as was indicated in the report of the standing committee the Members of the committee are concerned that the treatment centre known as Northern Addictions Services, the organization that operates it had been in trouble for a while and a lot of that was due to the way the department had changed its funding. They based it on per diems, the number of people who were in the treatment centre. Another factor that came into play was the fact that the Northern Addictions Services Board had to pay a mortgage for the building that they are operating out of and of course they had to pay maintenance and the rest of that and what I would like to know is whether the treatment centre on the Hay River Reserve known as Nats'ejee K'eh, is that a private facility that the people in the Hay River Reserve have to pay a mortgage for or did the government build that building through a grant? How does that work there? Thank you.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 422
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 422
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The facility on the reserve in Hay River is a government-owned facility and, through the department, was built and the organization on the reserve runs the program on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories. I might point out that the changes that did occur, as the Member mentioned on the per diem rating, did happen at that facility as well. They have managed to sustain themselves throughout. There is still, I believe, a 50 percent core funding that was provided to the facilities and is maintained at that level. I am aware, as well, on the NAS facility, that a mortgage is held by the group out of the NAS board. As well, in that agreement, they did receive some assistance through the Housing Corporation on a 2 percent write-down, I believe.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 422
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 422
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The maintenance costs and the total operations and maintenance costs for Nats' Ejee K'eh operations and maintenance, are those costs covered through the per diems and the money that goes to the Nats' Ejee K'eh or does the government contribute in any way to the maintenance or the operation costs? Thank you.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am informed that we do not pay any extra above and beyond the per diem rates, so out of that they would take care of their operations and maintenance costs. Thank you.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Does any government staff, say from Hay River, do any maintenance work on that building? Thank you.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are not aware of any government staff providing maintenance for that facility on the reserve. We are not aware of that occurring. We would have to check into that and provide information back to the Member on it. Thank you.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
April 27th, 1999
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Could the Minister indicate if we excluded the costs for the mortgage payments that Northern Addictions Services has to make, how would that affect their budget? Would they still be in such dire financial straits? I imagine they would not be as bad, but they must pay a big mortgage, several thousand dollars a month. Could the Minister indicate how badly that mortgage affects them? Thank you.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The way the per diem structure was set up was to incorporate the costs of the facilities and to ensure that if they were, for example, to keep the facilities at 80 percent occupancy, that they would be able to maintain all of their costs and provide the services without running into any financial problems. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The committee's concern, as indicated in the report, is that this addiction treatment center should not disappear as a treatment center for alcohol and drug addiction. Could the Minister indicate what the plans are for this particular facility? Will it still remain as a treatment center, or is the focus going to change? Thank you.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A review has been started regarding the NAS facility, at what reprofiling might occur. We, as a department, do not want to see a reduction in the drug and alcohol treatment facilities we have in the territories. We are looking at the NAS facility and looking at what can be done in the area of addictions treatment or other areas that we, as a department, feel we need to address concerns. There is ongoing work, at this time, to try and come up with a suitable solution to the concerns that are raised and the problems that have been ongoing for some time at the facility. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This review that is being done, there is an indication that it has not been completed yet. How long does the Minister think that this review will continue for?
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
Floyd Roland Inuvik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The results of the work done to date were presented to the board of NAS and we are waiting for a response from them on that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Committee Motion: 23-13(7): Cooperation Between Social Envelope Department (h&ss)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 423
The Chair Jake Ootes
Thank you. Mr. Erasmus, your time is up. Are there further questions from Members? Mr. Henry.