I certainly want to start by endorsing the comments of Mrs. Groenewegen earlier in the report from the committee. I’m in full agreement with many of the issues raised there. I think I also see many opportunities to achieve cost reductions and so on through energy efficiency and local production of energy that creates revenue and so on.
Improving capital planning. I think that’s been discussed. It’s well known now that we need a tune-up there, and I heard the government is going to work on that.
I also hear from constituents who are employees and contractors with the government that there’s a lot of hoarding of O&M budgets to try and come in under budget, way under budget even, and so on. That is really at the cost of delivery of programs. So I think that’s one highlight, one heads-up, that I’d like to see our upper managers have in mind as we go forward: to be spending efficiently and so on in there.
I also have appreciated the information provided by the Minister in preliminary discussions that have got us to this point. I have increased my understanding and answered some of my questions along the way.
I’d really like to take this opportunity to speak positively for a second here on the decision to include, to this point, funding for the territorial dementia facility. Dementia is really an incredibly sad condition that can affect people across the Northwest Territories. It’s a very difficult disease and takes a terrible toll on families, often requiring 24-hour constant supervision and so on. Probably in the majority of cases this is being done by families and relatives with little support and often no respite for the caregivers. Eventually this takes a toll on the health of people doing this care, and in fact, people often end up sending these patients south at a very high expense, but it’s necessary for proper care and so on.
I would like to note that in this case we have a record of non-government organizations like the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for
Seniors and they are doing good work in the meantime and also doing work towards this facility, planning and so on, in conjunction with private enterprise in town and with the government to date. So I want to recognize that and note that this is the opportunity to take advantage of the work and dedication of many of those people and organizations.
I’d also note that one of the related sister facilities, if you will, the Aven Manor residential facility for elders, hosts residents from across the Northwest Territories, including, of course, Fort Good Hope and Tulita, Fort Resolution, Deline, and many others.
The dementia facility is incredibly expensive, and it’s expensive because it’s meeting a highly-specialized need. Currently, in the absence of such a facility, people who are suffering from dementia are housed at actually much greater cost, in many cases in hospitals and other inappropriate but very expensive, facilities.
So I’d just like to heartily endorse the decision to put some of our capital resources into that facility. I look forward to going over the bill in more detail here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
