Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister responsible for Seniors. I know we talked about seniors quite a bit in the House here. One of the questions that has been coming up through Regular Members is the issue with snowbirds and the time that they are allowed to stay away from the Northwest Territories. I know the Minister has talked about this in the House before. I’m wondering where this currently sits in relation to other jurisdictions.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister responsible for Seniors, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Currently, residents of the Northwest Territories need to be in the territory for six months plus a day, which works out to about 183 days. But over the last number of years, a large number of jurisdictions within Canada have been decreasing that time period to about 153 days, so they only have to be in their province for 153 days to be eligible for a health care card. Those jurisdictions are British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario.

We have done some analysis based on questions that have been asked in this House and questions that have been asked by seniors, and as a result, I have actually directed the department to follow suit. To that end, the department is actually preparing some revised guidelines that will change the requirement for people to be present in the Northwest Territories for 153 rather than 183 days to be eligible for the NWT health care card.

My next question is obviously the Minister has indicated he has given some direction. When does he anticipate that some of these guidelines and the increased amount of time to be away from the Northwest Territories for these seniors will be available?

At this point, I am hoping to have the changes done by the fall.

Can the Minister indicate to me how these changes will be implemented? Is it through a change in legislation? He indicated guidelines, but will those be before this House so that we can show to the general public that the issues that they have been bringing up are being dealt with?

We will be making this information public. We will be sharing the new guidelines when they come out. A couple things around that: There is still going to be a requirement for individuals who are going to be away from the Northwest Territories for extended periods of time to let the health services office know, and I would still strongly encourage residents who are travelling outside of the Northwest Territories to get medical travel insurance to cover any extra costs while they’re in the United States or other parts of the world as well as in the southern parts of Canada.

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

I’m just wondering why it took the department so long to do this. I’m wondering what the concern has been. These people typically, like the Minister indicated, have insurance on their own, so why has it been an issue for us to take so long to deal with this issue?

I guess it depends on how you define long. It first came to my attention about a year ago. I had the department do some research and analysis into what other jurisdictions are doing. We got some information back. I was satisfied that what the other jurisdictions were doing was reasonable and I have given the department direction to move. They need a bit of time to develop, sort of, the awareness campaign and to change our regulations and our guidelines to make sure that we can actually accommodate this and ensure that those residents who are going to be gone from the Northwest Territories are up to or within the Northwest Territories for 153 days can still get health care cards and still be covered by the health care system because they are residents of the Northwest Territories. So it has been fairly quick.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister describe the measures being taken to ensure the new health care facility in Fort Providence is a culturally appropriate space and that the cultural needs of residents will be given due care and attention? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the public administrator and the CEO of the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority have been working with the community, trying to make sure that those types of things are incorporated. Now that the legislation has been approved to move to one authority, I also am moving to re-establish wellness camps in the Deh Cho so we can continue to get input from the residents of the communities in a more effective manner. Thank you.

Will a registered nurse be based in the new health care centre to lead the expansion of home care services, and will an adequate needs assessment be completed for all our elders who currently or will soon need home care and assisted living services? Mahsi.

We do have Our Elders, Our Communities, which is our strategy for our seniors here in the Northwest Territories with a focus on helping residents age in place, where appropriate, and then moved to other facilities as needed. We are providing training to different people throughout the Northwest Territories in the areas of palliative care and others and then home care support, to ensure that we have people available. I can’t actually recall, off the top of my head, the specifics that are being done in the Deh Cho, but I will commit to getting that information to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you. Can the Minister assure me and my constituents that the new space in Fort Providence will be ultimately used to address key health issues? As an example, strategies to promote aging in place and to tackle chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Mahsi.

That is the intent of the health care system, and in that clinic you’ll see well man, well woman, well baby clinics, as well as other information being shared with our residents. The facility has a huge opportunity to continue to provide the quality services that are being delivered in the community now, but over time, there’s also some space for growth and some change of programs. So, as I said to Mr. Menicoche earlier, we’re committed to the health and well-being of all of our residents and we will work with the communities. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has stated that a wellness council will be established to ensure that the community has input into the department in terms of those regional operations.

What kinds of improvements can the community expect in terms of the community to regional reporting relationship in light of the move to centralized regional boards? Mahsi.

Currently, within our structure, there’s actually no board in the Deh Cho. We have a public administrator. The board was dismantled some time ago. With the move to single authority here in the Northwest Territories, we wanted to ensure that it was essential, or actually, we feel it was essential that we continue to get a regional voice and community voice to help us customize and enhance programs at the community level so that the regions and communities also have a voice at a territorial level.

As I’ve committed to this House before, now that the legislation has passed, I want to move forward and put in some interim wellness councils to start providing some guidance and advice as we move forward with the implementation of this one authority. When the authority goes live on April 1, 2016, that interim advisory council would become the official wellness council, and we will be working with the region and the communities to help us identify who should be on those councils, who can help us make the system the best it can be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Lands, and I’d like to start by asking about recent news stories which have talked about layoffs at Cantung Mine. Cantung has recently cut their operating expenses and are considered by some to be in marginal operation at best. So I’m wondering if the Minister can give me a general update on the current status and fiscal viability of Cantung Mine. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. McLeod.