Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Tsiigehtchic is in the 20-year plan, but it is quite a ways out. It is not something that is contemplated in the life of this Legislative Assembly, but it is something that has always been monitored. We review the infrastructure that we have regularly and make sure that it is meeting our needs from a program point of view, and currently, Tsiigehtchic is meeting those needs. Yes, it is in the 20-year plan, but a long way off.

The Member is correct that the two buildings he is referencing are Housing Corporation facilities. They are independent living units for seniors, and that really ties in nicely with the Continuing Care Action Plan, where we want to support our residents to stay in their homes and, if they cannot stay in their homes, stay in their communities for as long as possible.

I really do applaud the Housing Corporation, who in the design of the independent living units they have been building them in the last couple of years, they have actually left program space in those facilities so that we can work with residents on day programs, but also have our home support staff come in and provide supports to help our residents age in place, to keep them out of long-term care facilities as long as possible. All science, all evidence demonstrates clearly that keeping people in their homes, in their communities, will benefit residents from a health perspective, but also from just a quality of life perspective as well.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is too bad it is so far away, a major retrofit or replacement, because there has really not much been done to the health centre all the time that I have been here. I know over the last two years they have worked on the pilings twice, now. That is not a good sign. Hopefully it lasts another couple of years, but we cannot keep doing that to these units. They have to be built to standard. I am sure the Minister will say that the blocking are up to standards, but if they are not maintained on a monthly basis, really a lot of the pilings are not doing very much. The blocking there has got to be maintained as much as possible.

There is also, as I mentioned in one of my statements here not long ago, the need for a vehicle in the community. It would be nice to have that in the next capital plan, but in the interim the community does need something to help out, especially with the elders' programs. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Would the Minister like to respond?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I do take the Member's point about regular maintenance, and that is something that we obviously do try to keep on top of to make sure our buildings last as long as possible and that we are able to provide high-quality services in those facilities. We will certainly continue to monitor all of our facilities. With respect to a vehicle, the Member did raise some questions in the House earlier this week, and it is not in this capital plan, but I did indicate we would look at it to see what, if any, opportunities exist, especially in light of the liability questions that the Member did raise.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Big announcements from the Minister?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No big announcement from the Minister, other than I will live up to the commitment that I already made to the Member in the House, which is we will explore every avenue to see what, if anything, we can do to provide those supports. Once again, the Member did raise a significant number of liability issues. That is clearly a concern, and that will be considered as we look at this.

Thank you, Minister. Next, I have Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I guess my first question is we have heard some concerns, and maybe the Minister can alleviate some of the concerns out there with the new Yellowknife hospital being built, with the insulation. Has that been a concern that people should be aware of, with this insulation being exposed to all this weather out there? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am probably not the best person to ask that. I am the client in this particular situation. I really cannot speak to the technical requirements around building or how they are building the buildings. Sorry.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

I guess I can save that for the Minister of Infrastructure. In regards to the health centre replacement, the new level A health centre, is there a station being scheduled for Jean Marie? I guess what I am looking for is: how can we work with the community so that they can actually go get the financing to build this facility and lease it back to the government? We had some struggles with Sambaa K’e, and we have had to forego that arrangement, so what arrangements do we need to do to make that happen? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Jean Marie health station is a future priority. It is not actually contained in this capital project or this capital budget. However, as we were with Sambaa K’e and it did not work out, we are certainly open to other methods of procurement, including the possibility of the community owning the building and then leasing it back to us. Our current relationship in the community is they own the building, we rent the building. We are open to that, but we would certainly need a building built to certain specifications and standards to meet the needs of our health programming. I think there is lots of time for conversation on that one because it is not in the 2018-2019 capital plan.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for his answer. I guess I am probably going to have to disagree with him. I understand it is not the 2018-2019 capital plan, but we need to help get this community build capacity, and the quicker we start talking with them, the Department of Infrastructure and the Department of Health and Social Services, talking to the community and start working with them. Will the Minister make a commitment to work with the Minister for Infrastructure to get their regional staff in there so we can start working on this so that they can build a health centre that is to the code that we need to? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in the previous Assembly, I was honoured to be the Minister of Health and Social Services, and I did have an opportunity to travel into Jean Marie at that time, and that exact question came up. We indicated to them at the time that we would be certainly open to some discussions if they wanted to propose something to us to build and own. We are still open to those conversations. I am certainly happy to work with the Department of Infrastructure, or rather have the Department of Health and Social Services work with the staff in Infrastructure to explore that opportunity, recognizing, you are right, there is no time like the present to have some conversation, but we certainly would be moving forward with acquisition or renting until further down into the capital plan.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that. I realize that we are not building it and renting it back to you, but I want to make sure that we start the process, and I hear that. I have talked to the chief when we were looking at Sambaa K’e, and they jumped all over it. They liked this idea. It helps the community. It is not a lot of money, but it helps them towards what they are trying to do, so it helps build their capacity. I greatly appreciate it. I guess my question was: can the Minister commit to working with me, as well, to make sure we can get that going with the community? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.