Thank you, Mr. Blake. Moving on. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd just like to follow up with Mr. Blake's questioning. With home care workers, is there part of this plan, are you guys looking at communities providing this service? In the past, there was in Fort Simpson the band used to run it. Now the authority took it over. If you're looking at expansion, would the communities be given that opportunity to provide that service? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chair, we have a consultant who is working with us on the development of this. We're open to possibilities. I am a strong believer that communities have great ideas and great solutions and that it's important to have partnership where appropriate. We've demonstrated that we're prepared to think outside of the box in some of our relationships with, you know, the Inuvialuit and the Sahtu. So, I mean, I don't know what the model would look like that the Member is describing, but, you know, it's about providing services, and we're open to creative solutions.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson.

I find that the band that was actually in Fort Simpson was actually doing a strategic plan, and that was one of their concerns, that it was taken away for whatever rationale. I don't know when it happened. It's just that we used to provide -- they had a contract providing home care for the elders and that, and the department took it over. The workers are good. Don't get me wrong. It's just that the band was trying to figure out what it was. So I'm hoping that the consultant can discuss that with the band and see how it can be addressed. So I'm hoping the Minister can get the consultant to go see the band or talk to the band about it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'm pretty sure that the situation the Member is describing didn't happen while I was here because I certainly don't remember it. It must have been a long time ago that it actually happened.

The piece that I said after the mic went off was: Anything we do still has to be within standards, so it has to meet certain criteria. We're open to that. I'm happy to have discussions with the communities, with the regions. I'll be travelling with the Member to visit his communities at some point. I'm sure we'll have an opportunity to have that discussion and hear what the leaders are thinking.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson.

This is, hopefully, my final question on this, regarding this page here. When we talk about home care, we have a new facility going into Fort Liard. Is it going to be Health and Social Services staff being hired to look after these people, or is it existing staff? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm assuming the Member is talking about the independent living unit that's being developed for or put into Fort Liard. The facility is an independent living unit. It will have some program space dedicated for some day programs and whatnot that can be delivered by home support workers or other staff that exist within the community.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Thompson. Recognizing Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Earlier today, the federal government announced $70 million in new funding over three years to address the health and suicide crisis involving Indigenous people living on reserve and in the Territories. It does appear that most of these, the largest parts of this funding, are going to be addressed towards Nunavut. I'm wondering if the Minister has been in touch with Ottawa about this and if we know some of this money is going to be Northwest Territories to help with our mental health problem. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I saw the same press release that the Member did. I had a quick conversation with the department and staff are getting in touch with Ottawa to figure out what those dollars are, how they intend to allocate them, and what, if anything, may be available to residents of the Northwest Territories. It does not mean that the dollars would go to the GNWT. They might go to the Inuvialuit. They might go to different groups. They might come through us. We don't know. The department is trying to figure out those details right now.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for his answer. Is suicide prevention encompassed in this line item, this community mental health and addictions, are suicide prevention programs? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, yes, it falls under this area. You'd find some of it under Community Mental Health and Addictions, Health Promotion and Community Wellness. It's certainly within this area.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I note that our colleagues in Nunavut have taken some action on suicide prevention in their territory. I wonder: When is the last time the Department of Health and Social Services studied our suicide rates and the efficiency of our prevention programs and taken a -- kind of drilled down into the information? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, actually, a report was prepared late in the life of the, or halfway through the life of the last government. It was certainly, I believe we tabled it here, in the Legislature. Following up with the recommendations under that, we are still providing dollars for things like Mental Health First Aid, ASSIST, and other suicide prevention and support programs for youth across the Northwest Territories.

To that end, we're also taking what we learned through that report as well as the Minister's Forum on Mental Health and Addiction to develop a new framework for mental health and addictions here, in the Northwest Territories, which is going to certainly address some components of the challenges that we're facing around suicide. We’ll keep moving forward with things like ASSIST and Mental Health First Aid. I'd strongly encourage all Members to attend one of the Mental Health First Aid training courses here, in the Northwest Territories.