The family has told me that, by their own admission, the people responsible for the extended care unit at Stanton Hospital don’t have adequate resources to fully care for Allisdair.

The GNWT is good at providing general health care, but it’s weak in the area of specialized care. Why doesn’t the Northwest Territories have a made-in-the-North facility for high needs people such as Allisdair Leishman? Mahsi.

Our long-term care facilities here in the Northwest Territories are staffed by competent professionals, including nurses and doctors, who actually can provide a wide range of services to individuals.

I would encourage any resident of the Northwest Territories who has concerns about their individual care to talk with their physicians to make sure that they are getting the services that they are entitled to in the Northwest Territories, and if they have any concerns about the quality within the facility, I would strongly encourage them to contact the quality assurance staff within the department to actually work through these issues to ensure that they’re getting the care and support that they do deserve. Thank you.

I understand that the extended care unit has a sterile feel. It’s not a homey environment.

Will the department commit to provide a more comfortable home-like environment for extended care patients such as Allisdair Leishman? Mahsi.

We’re actually currently going through the Stanton renewal which is going to result in a major construction and improvements and modifications to the Stanton facility. Part of that includes the development of a long-term care facility here in Yellowknife, which will actually be outside the building because they would have different defection control and other procedures that they’d have to adhere to. So there will be an enhanced long-term care facility here in Yellowknife and it will be similar to the high quality long-term care facility in Inuvik and the one that’s being built in Norman Wells and the one that recently opened in Behchoko and the ones south of the lake as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s clear that this government is experiencing inadequate programs and services for people such as Allisdair Leishman and mental health patients. Thus, there’s a challenge in the fiscal resources that are very limited.

What role does the federal government have in addressing the inadequate funding of mental health institutions and programs and services that the GNWT has currently been challenged to address the needs of the people of the NWT? Mahsi.

HON. GLEN ABERNETHY: The responsibility of health and social services has been devolved down to the Government of the Northwest Territories. There are dollars coming through NIHB that are going to individual Aboriginal residents of the Northwest Territories for different aspects of their care, but it is the Government of the Northwest Territories for the provision of health services in the Northwest Territories. There is the health money that comes from Canada, which we understand is stabilizing. It’s not going to be increasing here in the Northwest Territories, but unlike other jurisdictions it’s not going to be decreasing as well. So it is a priority of the Government of the Northwest Territories to enhance our services and make sure our people are getting the best services they can here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I made reference earlier in my Member’s statement about the psychological health and well-being of our employees or any employees, for that matter, in the Northwest Territories and the National Standard of Canada for Psychological and Safety in the Workplace that the Mental Health Commission of Canada did. I would like to ask my questions to the Minister of Human Resources.

I know the GNWT has its own program, the Employee and Family Assistance Program. What does the government pay to run the EFAP and how often is that utilized? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have the contract numbers with the providers here with me today, so I’m unable to give that information to the Member. However, I know the department does track everyone who goes through EFAP and I can get that number for the Member.

I do appreciate that. I think it will give us an indication of how well we as a government are doing for employees out in the workforce.

I mentioned that on November 25, 2014, the Mental Health Commission of Canada released the implementation guide for psychological health and safety workplace standards. This is the first time something like this has ever been done.

Is the Minister familiar with that program or that the release had happened last November and whether his department is looking into that type of implementation program as something we can build on here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not familiar with the national standard of Canada for psychological health and safety in the workplace. However, the Department of Human Resources I’m sure is up to speed on all of those types of reports or standards that have been released. Again, I can ask the department to bring me up to speed and, if need be, bring the Members up to speed as well. Thank you.

If the Department of Human Resources isn’t up to speed or not familiar with the national standard that’s being adopted right across Canada, in fact since it was released in November, there’s more than 21,000 copies that have been downloaded from the website.

Will the Minister direct his staff to take a look at this implementation standard and see whether or not it is something GNWT can adopt for themselves for employees who do the hard work in our government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s quite possible that the department is up to speed on that report. Myself, I’m not. If we are not and if the Department of Human Resources is not familiar with the report, I will ensure the deputy is able to transmit that to the department so members who are working with the public service are well aware of this standard. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to reiterate that the implementation guide is available at no cost, so it would be no cost to government to take a look at that.

The last one is the Canadian Standards Association does a one-day workshop in partnership with the Mental Health Commission of Canada with regard to this implementation guide.

Would the Minister possibly look into having his staff take that one-day training and see how much of an impact it does have and whether or not we can develop a training type of program under these national standards? Would he ask his staff to look

into that one-day training workshop? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I know that the department is up to speed on occupational health and safety of the employees of the public service. If this is something that can be done and something that employees in Human Resources will benefit from, thus benefitting all public servants in the GNWT, then I will speak to the senior management to get their feeling on whether or not they feel it would be beneficial to the staff there to take this course. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will follow up from my Member’s statement with questions on mental health from our mental health theme day. I will take up the challenge on the Mental Health First Aid the Minister alluded to and I’d like to find out more information on when that would happen.

The first question I have is: Does the Minister have the wait times to see a mental health and addictions counsellor in the Hay River area? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I answer the question, I just want to take this opportunity to thank the Members for undertaking this theme day. One of the key actions within the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, one of the key priority areas is to actually promote the understanding, awareness and acceptance of mental health in the Northwest Territories. It’s forums like this and Members asking questions that it starts to increase the awareness of mental health in the Northwest Territories. So I applaud them for taking it upon themselves to do the theme day on mental health and addictions.

To the Member’s question specifically, and I will just preface it by saying once again that wait times are for non-urgent clients and that clients with urgent needs are seen within 24 hours or immediately, given that we have the expedited referral process. If somebody acknowledges within themselves that it’s time for them to go to treatment, there are ways to get that information in so we can get them out immediately. So, please, in your newsletters, share this information as you move forward so they know how to access that program.

According to my records, the wait times in Hay River range anywhere from three to four months, which is excessive, obviously, but we will work with

Hay River and the other authorities to see how we can shorten these wait times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The information I get, too, is immediate action is being dealt with. We have a 1-800 number. We have people dealing with the emergency situations. The Minister indicated three to four months.

Is the Minister willing to commit to a standard level where you should be able to see a counsellor within 30 days or 45 days? Can we set a standard level that you should be able to see a counsellor within 30 days or 45 days. Can we set a standard and try to meet that goal?

I’m not prepared to commit to a standard today. We’d have to do some analysis and research to see what would be reasonable. I will say that throughout the Northwest Territories the wait times do vary. For instance, in Yellowknife it’s two to three months for counselling, two months for adult psychiatry and it could be two or three months for child and youth psychiatry, and these are for non-urgent issues. In the Sahtu, in Tulita it’s two months. In Deline it’s, surprisingly, turned out to be about two weeks; Colville Lake, one month. In the Deh Cho, Fort Providence is about three weeks, Fort Liard is one week and Fort Simpson is one week. In the Tlicho there is currently no wait list. In the Beaufort-Delta, in Inuvik, up to six weeks. In Fort Smith it’s anywhere from two to three months for a counsellor and three weeks for a community wellness worker. As I’ve already indicated, Hay River is three to four months.

There is some variety there. I’ve asked the department to look into some of the reasons why that variety exists, and I’ll share that information with the Member and committee when it’s done so that we can have a more informed discussion.

As the Minister indicated, this is a strong issue, but I think we need to improve. I think we need to set that standard of what we have to a minimum amount. I think where it’s needed we need to put the financial backing towards it.

My question is: Would the Minister approve overtime or additional counselling to get areas like Hay River that are three to four months away when we have some regions that only have two weeks or sometimes there isn’t a wait list? Is there a way that we can deal with this immediate situation of the three to four month wait lists?