Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, there are currently some services being provided out of Yellowknife, but we recognize that we need to do more at a territorial level. There will be the new child development team coordinator position that will be located in Inuvik, that can help us with the northern part of the territory. It's all currently being delivered out of Yellowknife at this point. There is also the new FASD family liaison, who is going to be located in Yellowknife, and the ASD program coordinator, who is also going to be in Yellowknife, but these will be providing services at a territorial level.

Thank you. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess my big concern is that I know, in talking with teachers and parents, we are seeing a higher increase of autism in my riding. Actually, my sister who lived down south is actually highly involved in autism and works with an autistic child, and so my concern is: how can we actually do justice to this if we only have a position in Yellowknife that is looking at the southern part and a position in Inuvik looking after the northern part? Because this is going to be a huge demand, and how can the department guarantee that we are going to see better service in this area? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, these are coordinator-type positions that are actually trying to coordinate the services. They are not necessarily a frontline provider, but they are helping individuals get to where they need the assessments, do get the services that they require. They are also helping coordinate individuals coming in to where different assessments could be done and helping, when appropriate, having some of our professionals go out to do assessments, as well. They are providing territorial services. It does not exist today to this degree. It's certainly an enhancement to services. We will continue to monitor as we roll out to make sure that residents across the Northwest Territories with the multi-regional approach as well as the new positions we are putting in are getting the service they need and getting the coordination they need. We see a demand not just in the Deh Cho but other regions across the territory, so we want to make sure that we are in a position to provide that coordination as best we can to all residents of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not asking just for the Nahendeh riding and the Deh Cho. I totally understand that. My biggest issue, though, is we are starting to see a huge number of children being diagnosed with autism, and it is a lot of work. I mean, I know down south they actually have a person who works one-on-one with the child, whereas we have classroom assistants and people out there. I applaud the department for providing this service. I think it's a great first step. However, we need to get more positions in the communities or regional centres, anyway, that we can spread out the workload. I understand having a coordinator here, in Yellowknife, for FASD and autism is great, but we are talking a huge number. As more people become aware of these situations and diagnoses of our youth, it's a big demand, and I think we are going to overload the two or three positions. I honestly believe we are going to see a huger increase in that, so I understand the department is looking at it, but are they looking at potentially building up the capacity of these teams? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I hear the Member. I agree with the Member. It's not just these individuals who are providing services, but there are lots of other groups out there that we will be partnering with. The disabilities council has different programs, there are other partners we will be working with, so there are multiple teams involved in this. This coordinator is helping people make sure that they are getting the services. I hear the Member, and, as part of the Early Childhood Development plan, moving forward, there is an enhancement in this area in subsequent years, so we will be coming forward in the business planning process with more information on future expansions, keeping in mind that it all needs to go through our normal budgeting process and whatnot, but the plan calls for more enhancement in this area over time.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Minister and department looking at that. I understand the process, and I totally agree with you, and it could not happen sooner. I honestly believe, if we could get it going into the next year's budget, it would have a huge impact. Like I said, in my riding I know in one classroom that there were three or four who have been diagnosed, and it's kind of a different range within autism, and then FASD is huge across the territories. So I would just encourage the department to look at implementing it next year, and I can guarantee I will be supporting something like that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Comments from the Minister? Nothing from the Minister. Anything further on this activity? Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. So, because the therapeutic services are located here, in this section, I am wondering if the Minister can tell us what the plan is for these services in Yellowknife, moving forward with the new Stanton hospital? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. A bunch of the moves obviously are going to happen in subsequent fiscal years, given when the hospital intended to open and the transition supposed to happen, but, ultimately, what we are looking to do is there are going to be a number of positions in the new hospital that are in-patient OT/PT and other therapeutic services. Outpatient therapeutic or other outpatient therapeutic services such as OT/PT are intended to be in the old Stanton building. We will have to go through a transition phase as that building is renovated to meet the needs. I have had the opportunity to visit OT/PT as an example in the existing Stanton, and, in my opinion, it is sadly overcrowded and entirely too small to provide the high rate of services that I know are our residents' due, so I really applaud the people who are in there because they do amazing work in what I would consider adverse situations. They do good work. We are going to fix their space.

Thank you. I will remind the Minister to let us know when he is done talking so the sound team knows when to change the mics. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the response from the Minister. So I heard him talk about physiotherapy and occupational therapy. There are a number of other areas of the therapeutic services, such as audiology, speech, and so on. What is happening with those parts of rehab services in Yellowknife with the new hospital? Are they going to be in the old hospital, or are they going to be moved off site? What is happening with those? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I believe the information is online, but I will verify that for the Member. We are looking at using basically all the space in the old Stanton facility. Level 1 is going to be extended care. It's also going to have some other: transcription services, primary clinics, food and laundry services for extended care and long-term care. It's also going to have the outpatient rehab program, which includes occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech-language pathology, and audiology. Levels 2 and 3 are going to be long-term care.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am pretty sure I heard the Minister say that all of these rehab services are going to continue to operate out of the old Stanton Hospital. What happens, though, in the interim when the old hospital is being retrofitted to better accommodate those services? Where are they going to go? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, currently, speech and audiology are actually in the Stanton Clinic. I think it is called the clinic. It is the one beside McDonald's. They will stay there during the retrofit. Physio and occupational therapy, obviously, we are going to have to find alternate space during the transition phase. That hasn't been finalized as far as I am aware. I haven't been briefed on that in a couple weeks. When I know, you will know. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.