Again, in order for programs and services to exist, you need bodies on the ground. It does take investment. We have health centres in the Northwest Territories that don’t have nurses in them. I think it’s a shame in this day and age that we are funding health centres without the core staff to run them. I’d like to ask the Minister what he is doing to ensure we have nursing services, and programs and services in communities where we

have the basic infrastructure already on the ground, yet we’re not delivering programs and services.

Again, I think it’s important that we do as government seem to have a lot of programs and services in the larger centres. A lot of the time we lose sight of those programs and services that do not exist in a lot of our communities. I think I’ve talked about respite care and midwifery, caregiving programs, wellness programs, and even mental health and addictions programs. Those are the building blocks for healthy communities. I’d like to ask the Minister what the department is doing to ensure that it streamlines the funding that is going into the area of Health and Social Services, and ensuring that there’s a base funding for programs and services in all communities so that at least they are meeting the minimum needs of all our communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services and are in regard to my Member’s statement. In this day and age we still have critical programs and services not being delivered to a lot of our more isolated communities. I think in order to have healthy and vibrant communities, the building block of any community is to develop a healthy side to those communities. I’d like to ask the Minister what his department is doing to ensure we have essential programs and services delivered in all

communities so we have healthy and vibrant communities.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Programs and services are fundamental to saving our vibrant communities. To have healthy communities we must have programs and services in place in all 33

communities in the Northwest Territories so that all our children can grow up healthy, elders can retire in their home communities and not have to worry about being sent away, people can find work in their communities and raise their families, and also apply for support to local economies to support them.

Not having programs and services gives us a situation where we have have and have-not communities when it comes to programs and services. That must stop.

In every community the fundamental pillar for community self-reliance is programs, services, and ensuring that the well-being of the residents are taken care of, regardless whether it’s the aged, the ill, and the young children, so that the programs and services we deliver throughout the territory are universal, you can get a program in Tsiigehtchic similar to a program in Yellowknife.

Programs are what make communities. Without having the proper resources in place for programs and services, we have some 30 percent of communities in the Northwest Territories that don’t have wellness programs, nursing programs, policing services. Thirty percent. That has to stop. Without programs and services in all communities, core services are being delivered in the have communities and the have-not communities are suffering because of it. We must stop this practice and give all residents of the Northwest Territories the proper services and programs they require to live meaningful lives, live in the communities that they come from, and not be stuck in the situation of which community is vibrant and which one is not. We have to ensure essential services are delivered in all our communities and they do meet the requirements that the residents require.

At the appropriate time I will have questions for the Minister of Health.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I know Joe Greenland is a unique problem, but I think that problem appears all through the Northwest Territories. A lot of our communities, like McPherson where we have 120-something elders over the age of 60 -- that’s a large portion of our population -- need these type of programs. I’d like

to ask the Minister what he’s doing to expand the respite care program, the care programs for elders throughout the Northwest Territories, especially in a lot of our rural and remote communities.

Again, I think we have to realize as government that we do have some challenges in the Northwest Territories on program services. Again, it’s essential that these services in our communities aren’t clawed back, taken away, or deleted altogether. That’s the frustration of the community of Aklavik.

Joe Greenland Centre has been a level three facility for many years and served many people throughout the Northwest Territories. By simply deleting that program and putting in something that is simply a care program, I’d like to ask the Minister -- I know there’s a lot of people out there asking for program services -- what are you doing to protect the programs and services in our communities and making sure that we have long-term sustainability of these programs and maintain the programs at the levels, if not enhance those programs so that we receive the same programs throughout the Territories.

I’d like to ask the Minister if he can give me an exact breakdown of that $350,000 and are those positions fully activated. If not, when are you intending to have those positions filled and the programs and services that you mentioned being delivered on the ground?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services with regard to my Member’s statement on the delivery of programs and services. In most cases these are essential services, regardless if it’s a nurse or the Joe Greenland Centre care for elders.

I’d like to ask the Minister, there have been petitions filed in this House, there have been motions passed in this House. You realize that some 500 people signed petitions that were tabled in this House requesting that we save the Joe Greenland Centre. I’d like to ask the Minister what the government is doing to ensure that we sustain that facility, sustain the programs and services for the people of Aklavik. The same thing applies to the people in Tsiigehtchic with regard to the Nursing Program.

I’d like to ask the Minister if he could give me an update on exactly where we are with the Joe Greenland Centre, and are we living up to the commitments that were given by the previous Minister at a public meeting in January.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, programs and services are essential to delivering services throughout the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, the reality is a lot of our communities are losing programs and services which are either being cut back or phased out altogether.

Mr. Speaker, I’m talking about the nursing position in Tsiigehtchic where we have a health centre which, again, is not functional because you don’t have a full-time nurse to maintain and operate and provide the essential service.

Again, Mr. Speaker, cutting back at the Joe Greenland Centre in regard to moving it from a level three facility to a level two. There again, we’re cutting back programs and services in our community which is essential for the care and the well-being of our residents.

Mr. Speaker, standing up here time and time again, regardless of making Member’s statements...(inaudible)...petitions, or in most cases, getting motions passed from my colleagues in this House to support these initiatives and to keep them in place so that we can have programs and services that other people take for granted.

I think, Mr. Speaker, it’s imperative that the Government of the Northwest Territories has a universal health system that works in all communities in the Northwest Territories, that basically encompasses the importance of not only our front-line nursing staff but the regional centres and also Yellowknife in regard to how health care is being provided. But, Mr. Speaker, once you start taking positions out of our communities, regardless if it’s a nursing position in Tsiigehtchic or closure of the long-term care facility of the Joe Greenland Centre, this has a detrimental effect on the whole delivery system in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, time and time again petitions have been filed, as I did again this week, which was basically given to the Minister of Health January 11

th

in Aklavik, in which a public meeting at which

over 100 people were in attendance, in which a lot of commitments were made and a lot of discussion took place. Again, this government made commitments publicly on exactly how they’re going to continue to deliver programs in regard to elderly programs in Aklavik through the Joe Greenland Centre. Again, that is the commitment we made.

I think, Mr. Speaker, it’s important that this government realizes that when you talk about

independent living, day programs, and all of the essential programs, you need to run such a facility as the Joe Greenland Centre, commitment is not only a verbal commitment, it needs a financial commitment.

At the appropriate time, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister of Health exactly where we are in our commitment to our communities.