This is page numbers 6621 – 6658 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th 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 services.

Topics

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

In focus sessions, participants concluded that food systems are at the heart of localized economies and food security; that climate change, energy costs and health are three primary drivers of renewable energy adoption; and that compared to oil and gas, renewables are investments in local jobs and businesses. Much work needs to be done to evolve government policy that recognizes and supports local economies.

In conclusion, the goal should be community empowerment that builds a strong local economic foundation and restores the commons. We need to take control of our destiny, invest in our collective strengths, and work together locally towards a brighter economic future. Now there is an economic approach that will address the Minister’s fiscal challenges and all Members’ goals of healthy families and communities supported by this government.

Let’s get ‘er done. Mahsi.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Norman Yakeleya Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to know why there are so many houses just sitting empty in the Sahtu communities. This is a common conversation I have when I meet with my constituents in the Sahtu, especially in Fort Good Hope. In Fort Good Hope there are rows and rows of empty houses and a long list of young people who are waiting for a house. Unbelievable. Here we have a case where we’re not getting our act together fast enough to put these young people in these houses and fill these empty houses.

The last NWT needs assessment paints a clear picture of the housing needs in Fort Good Hope and the Sahtu communities. A study that shows you the dire straits of overcrowding, the health issues are a result of this fact and this spills over into other areas in our society.

The community leaders of Fort Good Hope have always wanted to do something with these empty houses. “Tear them down,” they say, “or build new ones.” We need houses for our people. There are provisions within the land claim that gives them the opportunity to build these houses and make it work for them, yet there seems to be some delay in movement within the NWT Housing Corporation to release these units. What is the problem? Can we really put people in homes? Is that a good measurable goal we can do, or do we continue to allow these empty houses to sit empty and do nothing?

I’ll have questions for the NWT Minister of Housing on how we can clean house.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I’m very

pleased to hear the Minister of Health’s statement on the transformation of our health system, but today I want to let the Minister know that we simply must ensure that our residents in Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte health needs are taken care of. They want to be served by the BC Ministry of Northern Health in Fort Nelson, BC.

The Minister travelled with me in May and heard clearly from the residents that they are treated fairly and with care when they go to Fort Nelson. In fact, our residents have been treated in Fort Nelson for decades. They’re only asking to formalize the process, recognize the Fort Nelson Hospital as a point of service. This will then allow our region to refer and pay for the travel costs of our residents.

Having health services provided as close to home as possible will lower the costs of health care in my region. It’s a two and a half hour drive from Fort Liard into Fort Nelson, as opposed to when they travel to Yellowknife it’s a two day travel.

I have been standing in this House for three terms, asking our government and our Minister of Health to authorize Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte residents to receive their health care in Fort Nelson. We have an agreement with Alberta Health, and we use all their facilities. What will it take to have an agreement with the BC Ministry of Health to serve our residents in Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte?

I will have questions at the appropriate time. Mahsi cho.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, we all heard the other day that the population in Canada is aging. No surprise, of course, and the NWT is certainly not immune to those pressures. That’s right. Stats Canada says one out of every six persons in Canada are over the age of 64. Heck, take the statistics in this room. Twenty percent of the MLAs are over the age of 60. Stats Canada can see this, why can’t the GNWT see this?

So, while the problem keeps getting ignored, Avens continues to be bursting at the seams when it comes to capacity, and as time goes on, it marches on, more seniors are on the waiting list at Avens,

k

nocking on the door when there’s nowhere else to

turn. But what happens? They get turned away. Why does this keep being ignored?

Avens is maxed out, Mr. Speaker. I cannot keep telling you this, because everyone knows it, and if something doesn’t change, who knows what will happen?

We need more extended care beds because Stanton isn’t going to cover them. Avens is offering a solution.

If this was a school, for goodness sake, we have policies to start looking at renovation plans or extension plans once they reach 75 percent, so why do they just pay lip service to our seniors? So, where are they to go? To the street, I wonder? I don’t know. I could tell you about the 50 or more seniors on the waiting list, but no, the government already knows this, so there’s nothing that seems to want to motivate them into action.

Typically finding a single partner is the biggest problem to these things, but no, they’ve got a partner, a partner that’s competent, that can do the job and wants to do the job. So, what’s the proble

m? Procrastination. I think that’s all it is.

So, while the delays continue, and of course our elders population keeps growing and growing, and the need for 173 residential long-term beds is still at zero capacity because they’re all full and we need more, well, this government, what do they do? They hire an expert, Dr. Hollander, who says in his report – the government’s expert, by the way – “Yellowknife is expected to grow by 287 percent in the next 16 years.” Oh, but that’s too far away to talk about, le

t’s go to 11 years away, 248 percent.

Oh, 11 years is too far away to think about? Well, let’s just get it down to five years from now, 184 percent growth in seniors.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bromley couldn’t be more right; it was a shame the way Ms. Lemay had been treated in her nineties. She’s given her life, heart and soul to this community and she’s shown the street, with no options. They’re giving her temporary care but there is no solution.

To sum up, it can’t go on any longer. This government needs to wake u

p to the seniors’

problem. We must do something to the demand that’s on our doorstep now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Medical Travel Policy
Members’ Statements

October 1st, 2015

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk again about our Medical Travel Policy and I’d like to provide an example of where I think there may be a gap.

A patient has been assessed by a doctor and it’s deemed they have to travel from one community to come to Yellowknife to have a procedure done

– it

could be any kind of procedure, it could be surgery – and it’s deemed that they need a non-medical escort. So, a friend or a family member is called upon to accompany that patient. But when they get to Yellowknife, they find out that the procedure or the treatment that’s planned is not available at that time. So, the escort is then left in the situation where the patient must stay but the escort needs to get back to their home and to their family.

I want to get to the bottom of a policy which, to me, seems very unfair. Someone, out of the goodness of their heart, agrees to accompany a patient to Yellowknife, finds out that the stay is going to be too long and they can’t stay for the duration. But when they want to go home, they get told by medical travel, “I’m sorry. If you’re not travelling home with the patient, you’re not eligible to have your cost covered.” I don’t think that’s right. I think it would discourage people from helping a friend who needed a medical escort.

I will, later today, be asking the Minister of Health and Social Services if he could clarify for us what the policy is in a situation like this. I mean, it’s very possible that the treatment or procedure that that patient was schedule for could get changed for some reason. It could be any number of reasons. If the patient is not sent back to their home community, what happens to the person who escorted them here when they need to return?

I think it may be potentially a gap in the system that needs to be addressed, and I’d like to question the Minister about it in question period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Medical Travel Policy
Members’ Statements

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Colleagues, before we go on today, I’d like to welcome Mr. Roy Erasmus, Member of the 13th Legislative Assembly. Welcome back to the House.

---Applause

Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. McLeod.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Robert C. McLeod

Robert C. McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to recognize my wife of 36 years and, Lord willing, another 36. I’m glad you’re able to join us in the Assembly. My wife, Judy. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

David Ramsay

David Ramsay Kam Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome all visitors to the gallery today. We have some special guests visiting us from the Yukon. We have the Deputy Premier of the Yukon,

the Honourable Elaine Taylor; her deputy minister, Murray Arsenault; and from

the Premier’s office,

Jonas Smith; and I’d also like to welcome a former Member of the House, Mr. Roy Erasmus; and, again, everybody else who’s with us. Thank you.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, MR. Ramsay. Mr. Lafferty.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I would also like to welcome the Deputy Premier from Yukon. I know that she has the ministry of francophone under her. I know that she has a lot of work, the same as we do, and I want to express my welcome to our House, our Assembly. Mahsi.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Menicoche.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Kevin A. Menicoche

Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize three of my hearts in the gallery today: my loving partner, Mr. Lucyanne Kendo; a wonderful stepdaughter, Brittany Jewel; and my very small grandson, Kayleb Black- Villeneuve. Welcome to the gallery.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Bromley.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like

to recognize constituent Roy Erasmus. At least for the next couple of months he’s a constituent of Weledeh. So, welcome to the House.

I’d also like to welcome the visitors from the Yukon. You know, we don’t get nearly enough east-west interaction, so I really appreciate the visitors joining us in the House and visiting Yellowknife. Mahsi.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Moses.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to

welcome a constituent to the House today, Ms. Judy McLeod, and also thank her for all the work that she’s done with our Beaufort-Delta Health and Social Servic

es throughout the region. It’s very

much appreciated.

I’m not sure if Hilda is still up there or not, but I want to recognize her and just say that I appreciated curling with her in all the government bonspiels over the years, and I just want to say thanks for her welcoming smile every time we walk down the halls to our meetings, especially for the out-of-town MLAs when they come here.

Also, Mr. Murray Arsenault, a one-time Inuvik resident, welcome to the House. To all the other residents and people joining us today, I hope you enjoy the proceedings. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Ms. Bisaro.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, although I think Hilda is gone, but I did want to mention Hilda. She has been a stalwart person in

Yellowknife for many years, beyond her work in the Assembly, so I wanted to recognize her work here and her commitment to the community.

I’d also like to recognize Ms. Elaine Taylor. We have had some meetings over the years. Also all the other representatives here from the Yukon. As Mr. Moses said, it’s great to have communication between Yukon and NWT, Whitehorse and Yellowknife. Welcome to everyone.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Hawkins.

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. They’ve

been recognized a few times, but I certainly wouldn’t mind underscoring it just one more time at least a little further. I’d like to recognize Deputy Minister Arsenault. I’ve gotten to know him over the last few years. I really admire his hard work. He’s had a great relationship with the Northwest Territories and I’m very thankful that we have someone in the Yukon who understands our problems as we learn about theirs. I couldn’t think of a better team to take on the challenges in Ottawa than our good folks in the gallery here today, so thank you for your presence and, also, thank you for being a partner on our side, because we’re certainly on your side too when we challenge Ottawa.