Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are currently four facilities that provide extended care; Stanton, H.H. Williams, Fort Smith and Inuvik. The Member raises a good point. I have already been made aware of the concern from groups. Right now, the current definition of respite care tends to be based on a medical definition of what respite is. Very clearly, there is a need to look at this definition and recognize that there may be other reasons than medical. There may be social reasons that require respite care that have nothing to do with the child possibly being sick or requiring medical attention, but meaning the respite that my colleague talked about.

Is it possible to look at other ways of doing this? Yes it is. If there are suggestions and direction that the Member or the Standing Committee on Social Programs could provide, I would be very interested in looking at those. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Another form of respite care would be having someone come into the home to care for the child. Although people may be working and do not qualify under income support, you would not describe them as indigent, they may be working but it still may be very financially burdensome to them to have respite come into their home.

Is there any program currently in the government now to assist families that would just need a half-day or a day where they could just get away and do things they need to do and have someone come into the home and care for the child? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we are seriously looking at the definition of what qualifies as respite care. We are also looking at trying to enhance the continuing care homecare services that we provide, to assist in every way possible to keep people who require support, the elderly, the disabled, in their own homes. People who require support but we do not necessarily want to have them in a facility tying up resources when they are probably far better off if we work with them in their homes.

Yes, we are looking at that through the Continuing Care Strategy, which will be done in the next few months. As well, as I have indicated, the definition of respite care is going to be reviewed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the assessments of the level of need and care required for some of these children are required to be done by professional people. Do we have an efficient and adequate means of assessing needs to determine services? Provided these definitions of different types of support are changed, do we have an adequate system in place right now for assessing the needs of children so they can have services matched to those needs? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very clearly, the area of specialized assessment services, either for child welfare issues, psychiatric or psychological issues or medical assessments, require work. Often, we have to look for those services. In some cases, I know of families that have had to in fact obtain their own from jurisdictions outside the Northwest Territories. It is an area that needs work.

We are also looking at the current classification system that we use, which is level one, two and three, and trying to come up with possibly a more effective and relevant classification system. We want to do this so that we can in fact recognize the individual needs better. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department is willing to work with the community to see how we can address them having a suitable facility for upcoming events. We are also aware that the community should be entitled to some insurance from the building that was lost, so we are willing to balance that off with the needs of the community and see what we can come up with as to having something in place for the community when events are taking place this summer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are aware that some of the materials that are going to have to be used to upgrade that facility will have to come through the winter road. However, we still have to come to some kind of agreement with the community as to what they would need in the way of assistance. We do not have any idea yet how much they will collect from the insurance. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware there is some urgency now that the community has lost their existing hall. However, I am told that they still have the option of using the gym in the school for meetings. Furthermore, the building that was constructed was constructed for the purpose of holding summer assemblies. This is what the community is looking forward to. We are willing to see whether or not the community has sufficient facilities right now to accommodate their gatherings. If not, then I am willing to have the department assist them if necessary. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.