Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I live downtown in my constituency, and the operation of the combined day shelter and sobering centre is a focus for many of my constituents and, indeed, for Yellowknifers in general. I am committed to making downtown a safer place for everyone to be.
I have spoken in this House about the gains made downtown by having both GNWT and the City of Yellowknife invest in programs for people who are intoxicated and/or homeless. These programs have produced good outcomes for clients, including keeping them safe and connecting them to housing and treatment services, but, as a recently completed evaluation shows, the day shelter's mandate is unclear.
Mr. Speaker, the operator of the combined centre, along the territorial health authority, has attempted to answer this question by banning people with homes from the day shelter. This change was poorly communicated, with a sign on the door a couple of days before the new rule was to come into force last month.
Clients and other service providers responded negatively to what they perceived as a surprise change, and one that may be dangerous to clients, especially in the winter. In the latest attempt to get the messaging right, the operator paid for two full-page ads in the newspaper to make its case.
Mr. Speaker, there are some simple lessons to learn here. The first is to share and discuss the evaluation findings and proposed changes with other service providers. I am unclear of why that didn't happen, but it obviously should have.
Second, service providers need some kind of forum to discuss services for clients because, in many cases, there is an overlapping client group who access a number of different agencies. Other communities have interagency committees. Why doesn't Yellowknife? Is this work that the Health and Social Services authority could facilitate?
Third, people who have housing shouldn't be treated as if shelter is their only need.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted