Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I understand that security measures have been bumped up since some of the incidents that happened last year and the issues were brought to their attention. Part of the renovation takes into consideration the security issues. I believe the renovations are underway; it’s not finished yet, but in the interim, security measures have been taken. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Lee. Mr. Krutko. I mean, sorry, Mr. Bromley.

Understandable error, Mr. Chair.

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is there, in fact, a monitoring system in place to document the security instances and make sure we’re making progress in that area after the renovations are complete? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not have that information with me. I will inquire as to whether they do monitor and see if there is any report on that and we will provide it to the Member if there is.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Also on Stanton Territorial Hospital there have been a lot of issues about the food at the hospital and I think we’ve even heard about it recently. It’s been ongoing and I understand...I believe we had a briefing from the Minister and the public administrator and it seemed like, at that time, it was about to be actioned. I’m wondering if we can have an update on where we’re at with that. That’s again raised by the public constituents and so on who feel that good food is an important element to good health and, certainly, recovery. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, we did have that meeting and the previous public administrator did engage Sodexo Canada to express concerns about the services being rendered there in both their food as well as housekeeping. Sodexo has acknowledged and agreed to work with Stanton to improve the situation. They have changed reporting relationships with Sodexo. They have assigned somebody else to be in touch with Stanton. They have agreed to some of the auditing measures so that there’s a lot more frequent reports about what steps they are taking. There were some real clear messages expressed that things had to improve. My reports from Stanton are that things have improved and it will continue to be monitored. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I’m wondering, as well, about the cleanliness situation at Stanton Territorial Hospital. Another issue that’s been raised repeatedly, and again, I believe, was fairly dire when I last talked to the previous public administrator. Can we get an update on that situation as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, my information is that Stanton, with the agreement with Sodexo, has implemented a number of auditing tools about...I guess that’s what they do to audit the work of the contractor. That includes cleanliness. I understand that in their latest audit, performed in January, that the Stanton authority is saying that their cleanliness has improved and that other areas are improving as

well. I’d be interested in hearing any further reports. From all indications they will continue to ask Sodexo that they keep to the standards. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My final question is with regard to the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority. Are they operating within budget and have they been in recent years? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, Stanton is still...Oh, is it Yellowknife? Are we talking Yellowknife Health and Social Services? They are pretty well. They had balanced their budget or a little bit on surplus. Thank you.

Next on the list I have Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a number of questions in this area. The first question I have is I’d like to ask the Minister what work, if any, has the department done in the area of the proposed board reform initiative that the government has planned and how that would impact the authorities and the programs and services that the Department of Health carries out for our residents. I’m wondering what work the department has done themselves. Thank you.

Ms. Lee.

Mr. Chairman, I, as a Minister, even though I’m not a former member of Refocusing Government, I participate in that meeting in that all the Cabinet Ministers are invited to be at all of the Strategic Initiative Committee meetings. The senior management, the deputy ministers of the Department of Health as well as all of the other departments are part of the working group that analyzes, reviews and provides input in this work process. The consultation document that went out is a result of collaboration and group work from all of the DMs and Ministers and officials in the government. The Department of Health and Social Services is involved in working and we worked together on the board reform proposal.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So what I am hearing the Minister say is that the department itself has not done any research analysis, haven’t collected any data or done any work that would prepare itself. I am talking about the programs and services specific to health and social services that are going to be impacted one way or another by board reform. The Minister seems to say that the senior level bureaucrats are steering this and I would like to know if the Department of Health and Social Services is a willing participant in the board reform initiative that is currently underway. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, with all due respect, I have to disagree with what the Member said about somehow the department is not involved or senior officials are leading this, or that doesn’t make any sense, Mr. Chairman. I thought what I said is that we are…I, as a Cabinet Minister, am part of this group that are reviewing this process. We are doing consultation; we have provided documents for the public to see. I have attended public meetings along with Minister Miltenberger in Fort Simpson. I have met with the Catholic School Board trustees; I have met with the Beaufort-Delta leadership. This is very much an engagement and consultation process. Now, I think from what I heard, I completely reject the Member’s question, with all due respect, because the Member is saying that the department is somehow going separate ways or officials are going separate ways. We are completely engaged in this process in terms of providing our input, analyzing the situation, looking at the proposal and working together. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My belief is that the department should have its own opinion on board reform. It should be doing some of its own work on board reform and I guess just to put it succinctly for the Minister, does the Minister support the current government’s move to go to a regional service delivery model, which would include health and social services, which is her mandate? Does she agree with that move? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I am part of the Cabinet. This is a Cabinet proposal to look at this board reform initiative, as Minister Miltenberger has indicated many times. The final decision has not been made about where we go from here. The milestone date is April 1. The department has done work to see how this will work or what needs to be looked at, how the programs will be delivered, what things to consider. We are part of the process, so I just think that any...I think it is a group exercise as a Cabinet and all of the departments are participating in this exercise to provide our input. Thank you.

What I am looking for is a yes or no answer to a question. Does the Minister and her department subscribe to what is currently at play on the board reform initiative? Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I as a Minister and the department are actively involved as we work through this process. Thank you.

Being actively involved and agreeing with something are two completely different things. I am asking the Minister, does she as Minister of Health and Social Services, which provides services to residents across this Territory, agree with the board reform initiative? Yes or no.

I will just rule that question out of order because I think it has already been asked and that we should stick to the topic at hand, health services programs. If you are asking if the health and social services will be affected by that decision, then I can see that question being asked. But again, if you want to rephrase that question and keep away from the personalities of do you agree or disagree, Mr. Ramsay.