Minister Allen.
Debates of July 5th, 2000
This is page numbers 467 - 532 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 3rd 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 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 514
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 514
Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes
One moment, Mr. Chairman. Thank you again for your patience.
Just to confirm some of the rough estimates to date this year, this fiscal year, the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation purchased approximately $6,174,600.36, which basically represents 99.12 percent of northern purchase from the northern manufacturers and northern suppliers. Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 514
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you, Mr. Krutko.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 514
David Krutko Mackenzie Delta
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In regard to your definition of northern suppliers, are you talking about Igloo Building Supplies, Beaver Lumber, and all these major supplying companies?
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 514
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Minister Allen.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 514
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. General comments? Mr. Bell.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have some general comments about the department and I think I would like to start in the area of seniors' housing and echo the sentiments of my colleagues, who have said we are waiting yearly to see how the Seniors' Housing Strategy will play out.
I think living in one of the larger centers, we are going to see the effect that a lack of senior housing is going to have. As we all know, we are a magnet community. We are going to draw a lot of people to this and other larger communities. A lot of people who require services require housing and we have also heard from the president of the Housing Corporation that seniors core need is something like 32 percent. I think this is rather high, so we know we have got some seniors housing needs to address.
We will be waiting to see how the housing strategy proposes to do this. I think the problem is going to be accelerated, given the changing demographics and the trends toward an aging population. I am interested in hearing how the Minister proposes to deal first with this concern that we have, especially in magnet communities that we will not have the housing and the services to keep up and how his strategy will address this. Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Minister Allen.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes
Mr. Chairman, I am going to refer to Jeff Anderson, our chief financial officer, to respond to that specific question.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Anderson.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Anderson
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation currently has 231 owned seniors units across the Northwest Territories and eight leased units, for a total of 239.
In the development of our four-year plan, that we are putting in place right now, we are going to put in another 30 units this year. We are fast tracking some of these units because of the extreme need that we have for seniors' housing.
We also have another 94 seniors' facility units, which make up Yellowknife Avens Manor, Avens Court. Hay River and Fort Smith also have some facilities. There is an additional 94 on top of that. Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Bell.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
Thank you for those housing unit numbers. I am wondering, can you talk a little more generally to the idea? It is one thing to allocate housing units by community and by population, but it is another thing to realize that many seniors may be forced to move to some of the larger regional centers to get the level of medical care they need. It makes sense, possibly as they age, to have available housing for them not only in their own community, but also in some of the larger centres. They do need specialized services. Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Minister Allen.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I refer the question to the President of the Housing Corporation. Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Mr. Beaulieu.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
Beaulieu
Mr. Chairman, the Corporation has looked at the regional centres as well when we had developed the Seniors' Housing Strategy. We have plans to locate some of the new public housing units targeted towards seniors in Hay River, Fort Smith, Inuvik, and Yellowknife.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Bell.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
Thank you. Yesterday and today, I had some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services in the area of palliative care. I was concerned that other jurisdictions in the country are doing something to address this need. Typically, they are setting up hospice type arrangements for people who are in the last months of their lives and also providing somewhere for their families to spend their last months with them, so people are not dying alone.
I am wondering if the Minister can talk about whether or not he has looked into the possibility of hospices in any of the communities that might also house families and help us make this shift from only having hospital beds, which are very expensive for people who are in their last months, to apartment situations where nurses could visit them, probably close to health facilities. I am wondering if they have looked at any hospice setups. Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Minister Allen.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Specific to the question of hospice care, no, we have not. In terms of extended care, we still communicate with the Minister responsible for Seniors and also the Minister of Health and Social Services. We have been through busy periods. We have not had time to really discuss all of the particular details as it applies to that. We can ensure the Member that, as we continue to communicate with other Members of the Legislative Assembly, we will raise that as an important point. Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Thank you. Mr. Bell.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
July 5th, 2000
Page 515
Brendan Bell Yellowknife South
I want to thank the Minister for that. Given the Minister of Health and Social Services' very positive comments yesterday, I was eager to hear how other departments would coordinate with Health and Social Services in looking for a solution to this problem. I hope the Minister will agree to take this matter up with Mrs. Groenewegen and see if some arrangement can be arrived at and if this can be made somewhat of a priority.
I want to move to one other matter now, if I could, Mr. Chairman. Again, this is the area of northern manufacturing. I would like to ask the Minister, in some of the programs that the department has, specifically the Extended Downpayment Program or the Independent Housing Unit Program or other programs where the department is involved in either guaranteeing loans or providing downpayment assistance, can the Minister explain how a Northern Manufacturing Directive is secured when these types of programs are undertaken? Thank you.
Committee Motion 19-14(3): Recommendation That The GNWT Not Make Any Further Reductions In Funding To The Northwest Territories Transportation System (carried)
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 515
The Chair Leon Lafferty
Minister Allen.