Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on September 7th, while on a regional tour, I was travelling into the communities of Nahanni Butte. Arriving into the community, the weather was good. During our visit, the wind shifted and started to pick up. By the end of the day, we witnessed smoke and some ashes start to engulf the community.

Upon my return to Fort Simpson, I received an update from the Department of MACA about the situation. No emergency at that point. Unfortunately, with Mother Nature anything can change in a heartbeat. During Thursday night, the community leaders decided that it was best to evacuate the community members to across the river for the safety of the elders and others. During this time, the regional NWT Power Corporation, ENR, and MACA staff were engaged with the situation.

About 10 p.m. that night, an ENR staff member drove to the community to provide water and gas for the evacuees. As well, they provided guidance for remaining residents on how to protect their community. Later, the community decided that they should evacuate everybody to Fort Liard. There were approximately 80 evacuees and what impressed me was that the community of Fort Liard was able to house the residents and look after them on such short notice. Normally, Fort Simpson is the location identified as the place to go who are prepared for this type of situation. The next day, the situation got a bit worse and it was recommended that evacuees stay in Fort Liard for at least another day. At this point in time, the Emergency Measures Operation Committee was activated.

During this trying time, I witnessed the committee work together. In my former job, I had the opportunity to be part of the committee. It still impresses me the work they do. It is like they have emergencies daily. All the departments were engaged doing their respective roles. All evacuees returned to Nahanni Butte on September 9th with no incidents.

Mr. Speaker, in the final Executive Incident Report submitted on September 11th, it was stated that the wildfire was approximately 8,000 hectares in size and located approximately 5 km southwest of Nahanni Butte. With these facts presented, it is understandable how the community saw this as an emergency and took action. Overall, the safety measures were taken to keep residents safe, and an emergency response was acted upon in adequate time. ENR will continue to action and monitor the wildfire until it is out, eliminating the fire threat for the community. I would like to thank the departments who were part of the EMO committee, and I’d like to thank the residents of Nahanni Butte. I will have questions for the Minister later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Deh Cho.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a quick scan of headlines in recent years provides a startling snapshot of the growing problem of elder abuse in our communities. A 2010 report found that up to three-quarters of all elder abuse in the territory was financial abuse, ranging from pressure to make purchases to cover family members' expenses to direct theft of cash or debit and credit cards. In 2011, we heard a call for improved data tracking that we might better understand the scope of the problem. In 2015, a new report confirmed that financial abuse and neglect continued as sources of elders' suffering in our territory.

Today, in 2017, we are halfway through the term of a five-year action plan created by the NWT Network to Prevent Abuse of Older Adults. This plan sought the GNWT's support and called on the government to engage Government Service Officers in championing elder abuse prevention, to collaborate with NGOs, and to implement a centralized reporting system for all cases of elder abuse. Still, the abuse persists.

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Mr. Speaker, Dene tradition tells us that elders are to be held in the highest regard. In the Canada of today, though many elders have lived through significant hardships, most of this was directly implemented by the state as in the residential school system or as part of colonialist policy on First Nations communities. These continue to impact younger generations: high rates of drug and alcohol addictions, as well as chronically scarce employment, create conditions in which abuse can take root.

As the government of today, we have a responsibility to address this historical negligence. I do not want to see the same headlines in ten years, Mr. Speaker. We know that the NWT population is aging and that the number of elders and seniors will continue to grow. They deserve to live in safety, confident in the support of their communities, and their government. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Sahtu.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I wear the orange shirt in recognition of residential school, a traumatized history for the First Peoples of Canada. Being a residential school survivor, looking back to the days on boarding a De Havilland airplane in September and returning in June, it's an experience I would rather not at any choice force on today’s children.

Advancing forward as said by Senator Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or TRC when asked, “Why don't we forget and move on?” Replied by saying, “Why don't we forget 9/11 or the veterans of World War 2?”

Mr. Speaker, preserving our history is incumbent upon us as we move forward with Canada 150. In our jurisdiction, show of preservation history is what the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is pro-actively doing by including TRC in the curricular system. I commemorate the ones that have passed on and left us. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Item 3, members’ statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. Item 5, returns to oral questions. Item 6, recognition of visitors in gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome and recognize Yacub Adam, who is a resident of the Yellowknife North constituency. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. I’d like to recognize Yacub Adam as well. He is also a member of the NWT Human Rights Commission. Later on, we will be tabling the annual report. Masi for being here with us. Those that we may have missed in the gallery, thanks for joining us. It’s always great to have an audience as part of our proceedings. Masi.

Item 7, acknowledgments. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know we’re not supposed to have favourites, but today I want to wish a happy 94th birthday to my favourite constituent, Mrs. Christine Simpson. At 21 years old, Mrs. Simpson left her native England for Canada, arriving on Valentine's Day, 1945. After spending two years in northern Alberta, she settled in Hay River in 1948. She calls Hay River home to this day, as do many of her nine children, 29 grandchildren, and many great- and great-great-grandchildren. She is known in the community for her kind heart and gentle soul. Happy birthday, Nana.

Masi. Acknowledgements. Item 8, oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I said in my statement, the closure of the Elders Circle adult day program is clearly not temporary. The service provider has no plans to restart it because they cannot afford to do so. My question is: what is the Minister going to do to get an adult day program up and running in Yellowknife? Mahsi.

Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to meet with the board of Avens earlier in September, and it was clear to me at that meeting that they are very passionate about the programs and services that they provide. There is certainly an interest in doing a day program, but at this point in time, they indicated that they want to focus on the delivery of core services that they are providing so that they can continue to provide an incredibly high level of services to their residents. Right now, given some of the financial pressures, they had to make some hard choices, and they are focused on their clients.

They have indicated to me that at some point, obviously, they would like to move forward with a day program, but their first priority has to be their core services. They have indicated to me that when they do explore the possibility of establishing a day program, they are certainly going to use the report that was done in cooperation between the Department of Health and Social Services and Avens at the foundation for moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister had his official study the Elders Circle program at Avens' request, and I believe that a report was produced by territorial staff and shared with Avens in the summer. When is the Minister going to make this report available to the Standing Committee on Social Development and to the public?

The Member has described the process. She did not get it exactly right. In fact, the Department of Health and Social Services collaborated with the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services authority and Avens staff to conduct a review of the previous day program; so it is a joint report that was prepared.

We did provide that final copy to the board, who has had an opportunity to review it, and they have indicated that they are comfortable with us sharing this document. It is a shared document. I was not comfortable releasing it without their support. They have indicated their support, and I will be sharing it with Members this week.

I appreciate the Minister's willingness to share that report. The report, I gather, sets out what is required for a quality and safe program for elders in Yellowknife. My question is: how is the Minister going to provide that? Does it all depend on Avens, or is he going to put out an RFP so that other non-profits can bid on it?

Our first priority is to work with Avens because they have been a high-quality provider of services in the past, and in many ways, they still are. They are providing high-quality core services to their residents. When Avens does consider re-establishing the program once their finances are in order, they were hoping to use or they, rather, intend to use the report that was provided and will be shared to help them design a safe, effective, and responsive day program. Our first priority is to work with them to see if we could find a way to get to that place. If we cannot, obviously, we will have to look at alternatives, but in the meantime, to start, we are working with Avens.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Avens was very clear that they have no plans to restart this day program. I do not understand what the delay is in the Minister finding a new service provider or a collection of service providers, how about Yellowknife Seniors and Yellowknife Day Care, to provide this day program. We cannot be held hostage. Our elders cannot be held hostage because Avens is experiencing its own financial issues. The Minister needs to be proactive in providing a day program. When is that going to happen? Mahsi.

To be clear, Avens indicated that they are not planning to reinitiate the day program at this time, but there is certainly consideration for doing it at some point. Because they have been such a valuable partner in the provision of services to seniors in Yellowknife, we are hoping to continue that relationship, but I have acknowledged that, should we not be able to do that, we will certainly look at other alternatives. Immediately, our first priority needs to be working with Avens to make sure that they are delivering and continue to deliver the high-quality core programs they do, which would hopefully lead to a position where they can support day programs. They never said, Mr. Speaker, that they are never going to deliver a day program. They said at this time their priority has to be core services. That is what we are helping them do, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on my Member's statement with questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, since the community initiated the evacuation to Ford Liard, does the department cover the costs incurred by the community of Nahanni Butte? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Municipal governments are actually responsible for evacuation plans. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs works with them to develop their emergency evacuation plans and also to review them. If the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs asked residents to leave because we have deemed a need for an evacuation, then we will cover the costs. If the community takes it upon themselves to ask people to leave, then it is up to the community to deal with those costs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.