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Speaker:=
195; I will now call the House to order. We w=
ill
proceed at this time with prayers.
Prayers
Withdrawal of written questions
Speaker: The Chair wishes to inform the House of
changes that have been made to the Order Paper. Written Questions No. 5, 6,=
7,
8 and 9, standing in the name of the Leader of the Third Party, have been
removed from the Order Paper at the request of that member.
DAILY ROUTINE
Speaker:=
195; We will proceed with the Order Paper.
Are there any
tributes?
TRI= BUTES
In recognition of World =
Health
Day
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>I
rise today on behalf of the House to pay tribute to World Health Day. Mr.
Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues in this House to join me in
recognizing today as World Health Day, sponsored by the World Health Organi=
zation.
This year’s international theme is, “1,000 cities, 1,000
lives” and has been designed to draw attention to the effect of
urbanization on our collective health globally and for all of us individual=
ly.
Growing populations are associated with many health challenges related to
water, environment, violence and injury, disease and risk factors like toba=
cco
use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol th=
at accompanies
them.
La Journée mondiale de la
santé a pour thème, cette année, « 1 0=
00
villes, 1 000 vies ». On veut ainsi que les gens prennent
conscience des effets de l’urbanisation sur la santé de tous l=
es
habitants de la planète et sur la nôtre. La croissance de la p=
opulation
mondiale pose bien des défis sur le plan de la santé,
défis qui sont liés à l’eau, à
l’environnement, à la violence et aux blessures, à la
maladie et à des facteurs de risque comme le tabagisme, de mauvaises=
habitudes
alimentaires, l’inactivité et l’abus d’alcool.
It doesn’=
;t take
much to take the international theme and break it down into the
We know this is
coming, and we’re working now to plan well enough that we will be abl=
e to
meet these increased needs. We are taking action now to ensure our growing
communities will be healthy communities.
Nous savons que =
cela
s’en vient et nous commençons dès maintenant à n=
ous
préparer afin d’être capables de répondre à
ces futurs besoins. Nous prenons déjà des mesures pour que le=
s collectivités,
dont la population va en augmentant, soient en bonne santé.
It
is fitting that today, World Health Day, is the day we will be debating the
need for a Yukon wellness strategy. We believe, here, that health is a shar=
ed
responsibility. The World Health Organization speaks of the need for
communities and individuals to work with a wide range of multiple partners =
that
all share in the responsibility and take action to create a better quality =
of
life for citizens and to ens=
ure
the lasting impact on health and wellness. We agree, Mr. Speaker, this is w=
hat
wellness is all about, and I look forward to discussing this more in detail
later today. Thank you. Merci beaucoup.
Speaker: Are there any further tributes?
Introduction of
visitors.
Returns or doc=
uments
for tabling.
Reports of com=
mittees.
Are there any
petitions?
Any bills to be
introduced?
Any notices of=
motion?
NOTICES OF MOTION
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Mitchell: =
<=
/span>I
give notice of the following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to ensure that:
(1) the Depart=
ment of
Health and Social Services continues to develop an accountability plan on an
annual basis for the government and minister that identifies the
department’s strategic direction and planned actions to achieve that
direction;
(2) the plan i=
ncludes
the identification of measurable indicators that can be used by the governm=
ent
to assess performance and outcomes; and
(3) the plan is tabled annually in the House.=
I also give no=
tice of
the following motion:
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to:
(1) provide th=
e chair
and board of the Yukon Hospital Corporation with an annual letter of
expectation that provides the hospital board with a written mandate and
articulates the minister’s expectation for the board, as well as the
minister’s obligations to the Yukon Hospital Corporation in order to
improve accountability; and
(2) table the letter of expectation
annually in the House.
Speaker: Are there any further notices of motion?=
Is there a sta=
tement
by a minister?
That then brin=
gs us to
Question Period.
QUESTION PERIOD
Question re: Mayo B project
Mr. McRobb: I’d like to return to yesterday=
217;s
line of questioning on the Premier’s use of inflated numbers in descr=
ibing
the annual diesel cost savings from the Mayo B project starting in the year
2012. After swallowing the Premier’s numbers, many Yukoners decided t=
hey
had a distinct fudge flavour. Yesterday we coughed up the real numbers prov=
ing
the Premier had chosen to exponentially overestimate the diesel cost saving=
s of
the Mayo B project. In his response yesterday, the Premier said he trusts t=
he
Yukon Energy Corporation. Well, after the
Assuming the
Premier’s statement yesterday was true, why then did he choose to
exponentially inflate Yukon Energy Corporation’s own numbers from abo=
ut
$3 million to $20 million?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Mr. Speaker, let me remind the Member for
Kluane of his quote yesterday that he presented, based on the statement mad=
e by
the famous author, Mark Twain, and then give the Member for Kluane an
opportunity to correct the record with his assertions. The member tabled a
document yesterday that he maintains is evidence that would corroborate his
statements in the House yesterday. Why didn’t the member then explain=
to
Yukoners that his information includes the fact that no industrial loads are
soon to be connected? Does the member want to correct the record?
Mr. McRobb: Mr. Speaker, our information is taken di=
rectly
from the Yukon Energy Corporation’s filing to the Yukon Utilities Boa=
rd.
The corporation reasserted its figures to the board yesterday in its opening
presentation at the hearing, but the Premier couldn’t live with the r=
eal
numbers and replaced them with his own flavour of inflated numbers. It̵=
7;s
no wonder why Yukoners have lost trust in this Yukon Party government.
It’s no wonder why recent opinion polls have identified the emerging
issue of top importance to Yukoners, called “good governance”.
We’re all Yukoners here, Mr. Speaker. Why is it so difficult to get a
clear answer to this clear question?
Will the Premi=
er now
set the record straight and confirm that YEC’s numbers are indeed the=
correct
numbers?
Speaker’s statement
Speaker: Before the Hon. Premier answers, Member =
for
Kluane, you’re stepping perilously close to accusing another member of
this House of misleading this Assembly. I know you’re skirting around=
the
edge of it and I know you’re an articulate person and you can figure =
out
other ways to say that without stepping on the rules of the Legislative
Assembly. Member for Kluane, just be careful, please.
Hon. Premier, =
you have
the floor.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
The Member for Kluane has just stated th=
at
he’s very comfortable with Yukon Energy Corporation’s numbers. =
Let
me refer him to the submission to the Government of Canada’s federal
green infrastructure fund, an excerpt from such application. It says,
“Without additional infrastructure, Yukon Energy’s annual diesel
generation by 2012, to meet new mine and other growth” — this m=
ight
come as a shock to the Member for Kluane, but Yukon is growing —
“will jump from minimal levels today to over 70 gigawatt hours, resul=
ting
in 50,000 tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions, an incremental diesel
generation cost of $20 million or more per year.”
Does the Membe=
r for
Kluane want to correct the record, given Mark Twain’s statement that =
he
referenced yesterday?
Mr. McRobb: The correct response to the Premier̵=
7;s
response is, Mayo B won’t fill that void. The overestimations were not
only applied to the annual diesel savings starting in 2012, they were also
applied to the Premier’s numbers used to calculate the reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions. The Premier used the number of 50,000 tonnes in h=
is
Budget Address and in several other references. Some of his colleagues have
also used this same number; however, the figure used by the Yukon Energy
Corporation is only half of the figure used by the Premier and his colleagu=
es.
The Premier is=
good at
making mountains out of molehills and molehills out of mountains, for that
matter, as demonstrated in how he dismissed his secret parallel negotiating=
process
to sell off
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
So now we have the Member for Kluane
suggesting that these are the Premier’s numbers. I’ve just quot=
ed
for the member excerpts from the Yukon Energy Corporation’s applicati=
on
to the green energy fund — not the Premier’s numbers, the Energy
Corporation’s numbers — with projected growth. As I said, the <=
/span>
But it goes on
further, and this includes the Yukon Utilities Board. The aforementioned
realities were acknowledged in Yukon Energy’s Corporation’s 20-=
Year
Resource Plan, which, by the way, was reviewed and approved by the Yukon
Utilities Board in 2006-07.
Now, Mr. Speak=
er, the
Member for Kluane has made statements in this House that require what I wou=
ld
call a “record correction”. The fact of the matter is that the
Member for Kluane has either misinterpreted the information he has presente=
d or
doesn’t understand really what is going on.
Question re: Mayo B project
Mr.
Mitchell: =
<=
/span>Well,
Mr. Speaker, let’s follow up with the Premier on this same issue. Last
year, the Premier engaged in secret negotiations to privatize
A year later, =
we have
more of the same. The Premier has made some outrageous claims about the
supposed cost savings associated with Mayo B. He says $20 million a year wi=
ll
be saved in diesel costs starting in 2012, yet he has been contradicted by =
the
Yukon Energy Corporation that projects to be $3 million to $4 million a yea=
r.
Given the Premier’s track record, why should anyone believe that his
numbers are accurate?
Can the Premier
explain why his numbers are so inflated compared to the Yukon Energy
Corporation’s?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Speaking of track record, Mr. Speaker, a=
gain I
point out that members are referencing values that assume no industrial loa=
d to
be connected. That’s a huge difference in the draw or the supply and
demand of our electrical consumption.
The member kee=
ps referencing
“the Premier’s numbers”. Once again, let me repeat: the Y=
ukon
Energy Corporation presented this to the Government of Canada. But it also
presented it to the Yukon Utilities Board, who, by the way, reviewed the ve=
ry
numbers that we are speaking of, and approved these presentations by the Yu=
kon
Energy Corporation to the Yukon Utilities Board.
There is a tra=
ck
record, all right, here, Mr. Speaker: the continued misinterpretation and
misrepresentation of fact.
Speaker’s statement
Speaker: Order please. I’m going to issue t=
he
same caution to the Hon. Premier that I did to the Member for Kluane. The
honourable member is stepping awfully close to accusing another member of n=
ot
telling the truth, so I would ask the Hon. Premier just to be careful with
that.
You have the n=
ext
question, Leader of the Official Opposition.
Mr. Mitchell:=
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Y=
ukon
Energy Corporation filed the $3-point-something-million-savings number again
yesterday to the Yukon Utilities Board, so it does come down to credibility=
.
Last year when=
the
Premier denied he was privatizing
This year we s=
ee more
of the same — the Premier’s colleagues rushing to his defence. =
In
his reply to the budget speech last week, the MLA for
Why has the Pr=
emier
told the public one thing, while the Yukon Energy Corporation has told them
another?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
You know, Mr. Speaker, I’m not sur=
e what
part of “no industrial load to be connected” the member from
— is it Whitehorse West? Sorry, Copperbelt. What is it the Member for
Copperbelt doesn’t get?
The Leader of =
the
Official Opposition refuses to recognize the facts. The facts of the matter=
are
the Energy Corporation did present, not only to the Utilities Board, but to=
the
federal government — who, by the way, after doing due diligence inves=
ted
$71 million in this project because of factors like 50,000 tonnes of CO2
emissions reduction and the saving of diesel costs here in the Yukon.
The Energy
Corporation’s presentation in this area is as follows: “By the =
year
2012, with the growth that we are experiencing, there will be levels of ove=
r 70
gigawatt hours of increased supply/demand resulting in 50,000 tonnes of ann=
ual
greenhouse gas emissions and incremental diesel generation costs of $20 mil=
lion
or more per year.” That is from the Energy Corporation’s
application to
The member can=
state
their opinions all they want — the members opposite. The fact of the
matter is that the Energy Corporation has presented this information to
Mr. Mitchell:
This is the sa=
me
Premier who said he would never run a deficit, yet the budget for last year
shows a $23-million deficit. After seven years, Yukoners are catching on to=
how
this government operates, and they no longer trust this government. The lat=
est
example is the inflated cost savings on diesel that will come with the buil=
ding
of Mayo B. The Premier and the MLA for
We know who th=
e public
believes and so does the Premier. Will the Premier correct the record and a=
dmit
that the figures in his budget speech were wrong and don’t apply?
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Well, Mr. Speaker, what doesn’t ap=
ply is
the Leader of the Official Opposition’s numbers. Let me go on —=
and
this is an announcement from Canada and Yukon — in accordance with the
project known as Mayo B. Forecasts indicate that without the project —=
; I emphasize
“without the project” — $20 million of diesel will be nee=
ded
annually by 2012 to meet project demand. So, Mr. Speaker, here is what is at
issue. The members opposite have now turned $20 million into $3 million. Th=
e members
opposite have now turned a $69-million net financial resource position in t=
he
black to a deficit. The members opposite have ignored the fact that the
Question re:
Social inclusion policy
Mr.
Cardiff: Mr. Speaker, families who work for low wages =
212;
the working poor — face impossible choices: buy clothes or heat the
house; feed the children or pay the rent. Along with this turmoil, poverty
often breeds substance abuse, family violence and crime. The results for the
family can be spiralling debt, constant anxiety, long-term health problems,
child neglect and domestic abuse.
The results for
governments are intolerable costs for social services, housing and health c=
are.
Eventually, without proper strategies in place, governments raise taxes to =
pay
the bill. What is this government’s social inclusion plan for ensuring
that low-income families are not a burden on the territorial budget?
Hon. Mr. Hart: For the member opposite, I would ju=
st
like to maybe take him back a little bit. It’s this government that
provided the first raise for those on social assistance in almost 20 years
— and a substantial raise in that process — to allow those on
minimum incomes to survive and live in our community. In addition to that, =
Mr.
Speaker, we have indexed that process so they can, on an annual basis, incr=
ease
the process into the future so that we don’t have to make a large inc=
rease
20 years down the road to bring them up to date. That is what this governme=
nt
has done, specifically in dealing with those on low income — a
much-needed process. And we are very much looking at assisting those
individuals under the new social inclusion program. We’re looking to =
the
stakeholders to provide us with ideas on how we could go forward with those
ideas. We’re also looking at getting that information later on this f=
all
to identify which of those items are going to be on a priority list, and
we’ll follow through with those issues.
Mr. Cardiff: On Apr=
il 1
of this year, the minimum wage in the
At
the same time that the minimum wage was raised by four cents, the average
weekly earnings in the
The
current trend in social inclusion practice is to change the minimum wage to=
a
living wage. A living wage is meant to be high enough to support families, =
to
ensure they have enough money to live just above poverty.
Will the Premi=
er
consider beginning to approach a living wage for workers and that the minim=
um
wage be raised to $10 an hour?
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>A
lot of the questions the member opposite is bringing up, I look forward to
hearing brought up in the symposium coming up this week. I sent him an invi=
tation
to that process. We are looking to get that information gleaned out from th=
ose
attending that conference, in the workshops as well as the public speakers.=
We
anticipate getting a lot of this information that the member opposite is
discussing. We are looking at what is going to be needed to ensure that tho=
se
families on low income can be included in all aspects of
In essence, we=
are
looking at starting from the beginning here as to where we are to ensure th=
at
people are not excluded but included in the process.
Mr. Cardiff: Mr. Speaker, 62 percent of minimum-wage workers in =
span>
A picture emer=
ges of a
single mother, possibly even a teenager, who works part-time in a fast-food
restaurant. She looks for another part-time job to meet her expenses.
There’s no time for a young, single mother to get training or to take=
the
kids to a hockey game. She struggles even to have enough time and energy to
care for her children.
Is this the pi=
cture of
inclusion that we want in the
If the Premier
won’t raise the minimum wage to a living wage, will he consider
investigating the economic and the social advantages to the
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
There are some interesting statistics on=
this
to put it into perspective: 0.83 percent of employees are earning the
territory’s minimum wage of $8.58 an hour. Ninety-eight employees ear=
ned
that minimum wage out of a total number of 11,848 at the time the survey was
done. Three industry sectors accounted for 81 of the 98 minimum-wage earner=
s,
and the member is quite accurate on that. The combination is food services,
information and cultural — actually there were 38 there, in informati=
on
and cultural industries, 25, and in retail trade, 18.
So we’re=
talking
about a relatively small number of people on this. This is something that is
reviewed from time to time. It is indexed and my understanding is that
it’s not something normally that the government is involved in, despi=
te
what the member opposite is chirping off-mic as I speak.
Question re:
Mr. Cathers: Last summer the Department of Highw=
ays
and Public Works released the functional plan for upgrading the
Will the minis=
ter tell
me how much money is in the budget for the
Hon. Mr. Lang: We’re continuing with enginee=
ring
plans and looking forward in the future to doing exactly that. It’s a=
major
project to do the job that the member opposite has just put on the floor.
We’re committed to do it and we will be doing it in the future, but t=
his
year will be taken up with more engineering and work that has to be done on=
the
ground before we can trigger any kind of contract process or any kind of de=
cision.
Mr. Cathers: Mr. Speaker, although that wasn’t t=
he
answer I was hoping for, I appreciate the minister providing that informati=
on.
If he could also provide a timeline for when any consultation will occur on
this — if there are indeed further plans — and provide informat=
ion
about whether or not the plan is still to do the Hot Springs Road in two ph=
ases
as was planned before and confirm — as I believe he was saying in his
response to me — that construction is now scheduled to begin next sum=
mer.
Hon. Mr. Lang: Certainly, we haven’t made a =
commitment
for next summer — the start of the contract season. We’re commi=
tted
to do the engineering work that has to be done. Out of that will come a
decision on whether it’s a two-phase, three-phase or a four-phase
process. But we haven’t gone that far, and until we get the engineeri=
ng
done and we know what it’s going to look like, and of course, the dim=
ensions
of the project, I couldn’t honestly on the floor here today say that
it’s going to start next summer or the summer after that. This
engineering has to be done before we move forward with a project of that si=
ze.
Mr. Cathers: Another road project I’ve ask=
ed the
government to proceed with in that area is improvements to
The traffic on=
that
road is also increasing due to more families living on it and it’s us=
ed
by people travelling to the TransCanada Trail.
A section of <=
/span>
This is not ju=
st an
inconvenience, as vehicles and trailers have spun out and been stuck across=
the
road. A vehicle coming down the hill at the wrong time would be unable to a=
void
an accident. Will the minister please update me on whether money for this p=
roject
has been included in this year’s budget?
Hon. Mr. Lang: Again, we maintain our roads throug=
hout
the territory. I would remind the member opposite that we have, seasonally,
roughly 5,000 kilometres of road to maintain. Again, I can address the memb=
er
opposite on the question before that. This is all part of the
This year ther=
e will
be engineering done, and there will be maintenance done on a regular basis =
to
minimize any kind of danger there is on the road — or any kind of
infrastructure that needs to be replaced as we do on all highways and syste=
ms
throughout the territory.
Question re:
Autism programs
Mr.
Mitchell: M=
r.
Speaker, the Minister of Health and Social Services says there will be no c=
uts
to the programs being provided for families with autistic children and for =
children
with disabilities. Well, the only reason there may now be no cuts is because
parents had to confront this government and fight the proposed cuts.
How can anyone=
trust
this government to live up to its word? Time and time again, the Premier ha=
s to
issue apology letters for things he has originally instructed ministers or =
departments
to do. There would be no need to issue an apology if there was nothing to
apologize for.
The Premier in=
dicated
in his letter to parents that the programming would continue on for the next
year. This does not create much certainty for the struggling parents for
ensuing years. Will the Premier make a three-year commitment not to cut the
parent-driven programming for parents and families of children with autism
spectrum disorders and for children with other learning disabilities?
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>We
had a long discussion with those involved, with children with disabilities
— those representing all aspects of children with disabilities. As we
indicated in the House, we have not cut any funding to these individuals wi=
th
regard to their services. We committed to maintain that service to these
individuals this year.
We also indica=
ted to
those individuals that we’d be working with them on their plan that w=
as
developed, to ensure that we would go forth in the future to improve, enhan=
ce,
and provide greater certainty for those individuals needing care for their
children — not just for autism, but all aspects of children who requi=
re
assistance for their disabilities.
Mr. Mitchell:
Parents are lo=
oking
for continuity and improvements, not cuts to services. Now, last week the
Premier was cutting back services, but now he and the Health and Social
Services minister have agreed to keep everything as it is for at least one
year. After hearing from concerned and angry parents, the Premier has parti=
ally
backed down. The Health and Social Services minister has said it will stay =
as
it was for at least this year.
Parents, quite
rightly, want a commitment that lasts for more than just this year. Why are=
the
Premier and the Health and Social Services minister unwilling to make that
longer-term commitment?
Hon. Mr. Hart: I’ll reiterate what I said be=
fore
for the member opposite. There are no cuts in the program. The budget is in
there — main to main. The funds are in there. Under Family Services f=
or
disability, those funds are there.
There has been=
no
decrease in that funding for those parents with children with disabilities.=
We
are continually emphasizing that with those individuals in question. We also
indicated we would work with them with regard to their plan. We indicated we
would allow the families to take an active part in looking after their
children, as they have in the past, and we did commit to that. We did do th=
at
— while we review the plan that they brought up. Once that is complet=
e,
we will sit down and discuss the situation with all those families and pare=
nts
who have children with disabilities.
Question re:
Mr. Elias: Section 11(5) of our House rules say the following:
“… a member who has been designated as a Cabinet commissioner m=
ay
answer questions respecting the activities of his … Commission.”=
;
The MLA for =
span>
I’d like=
to give
the Member for
Mr. Nordick: First, I’d like to thank the
members opposite for giving me a chance to speak to this very positive
initiative in our community. First off, it’s a positive investment in=
the
community. It’s a solution-oriented — what the members opposite=
consider
a problem. This project is on time and on budget. The dollar value the memb=
ers
opposite speak of is all inclusive from beginning to end.
Mr. Elias: I would like to welcome the Member for
Can the new Ca=
binet
commissioner who has responsibility for this project explain why it is so f=
ar
overbudget?
Mr. Nordick: Once again, the member opposite is =
saying
it’s overbudget. Well, it’s not overbudget. Mr. Speaker, the
district biomass heating system could potentially be a revenue stream for t=
he
City of
Mr. Elias: Mr. Speaker, we’re asking questions here on the
floor of the House about an unaccounted-for $5 million of taxpayers’
dollars here and we can’t get any answers. The word
“reckless” comes to mind, Mr. Speaker.
Yukoners deser=
ve an
explanation for this cost overrun. The contract for this project was awarde=
d in
July of 2009 for $24.8 million. Eight months later, the cost is $34.3 milli=
on.
One reason why last year’s budget was a deficit is this
government’s inability to bring projects in on-budget. The Auditor
General has been very critical of how the government manages projects and h=
er
advice has obviously made no difference. The Yukon Party government just ke=
eps
missing the targets.
Will the Cabin=
et
commissioner responsible for this project explain: why has it gone so far
overbudget and where is the unaccounted-for $5 million?
Mr. Nordick: Once again, I want to state for the=
record,
this project is on time and on budget. The money the member opposite speaks=
of
is all inclusive with two Cabinet board submissions — one for $29 mil=
lion
and one for $4.5 million.
The member opp=
osite
keeps referring to reckless spending. This is not reckless spending in my
community. It is producing a potential revenue stream that takes greenhouse
gases off the emissions. It cuts in diesel spending costs for the city. It =
improves
the overall well-being of my community. The members opposite keep referring=
to
reckless spending. They considered a hospital in my community reckless
spending. Mr. Speaker, I disagree.
This project i=
s on
time, on budget and once again, all inclusive, beginning to end. I know it =
is
hard for the members opposite to understand — beginning to end it is =
what
is in the budget.
Speaker: The time for Question Period has now ela=
psed.
We will proceed to Orders of the Day.
ORD=
ERS OF THE
GOV= ERNMENT PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS
MOTIONS OTHER THAN
GOVERNMENT MOTIONS
Motion No. 1008= p>
Clerk: Motion No. 1008, standing in the na=
me of
Mr. Nordick.
Speaker: It has been moved by the Member for
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to develop a wellness strategy to promote healthy
living habits for all Yukoners.
Mr.
Nordick: It gives me great pleasure to rise =
today
to speak to this motion, especially on World Health Day. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this House to
debate this motion. It gives me great pleasure to do so once again, and
I’m proud of what our government has done in the area of health and w=
ellness.
I think it is an important topic to debate today, as today, once again, is
World Health Day.
Today I will s=
peak to
this government’s support for the development of a wellness strategy =
for
the territory. I believe that this reflects and reaffirms our commitment to=
the
good health of Yukoners and to the sustainability of our health care system=
.
In September 2=
008, the
on the sustainability of
Yukoners who had input into the review talked about personal
responsibility for health, long-term care and community-based options
addressing mental health, addictions and drug and alcohol abuse. Everyone h=
as
an idea of how wellness should be tackled.
Last month, the members of the oversight committee on health care sustainability met to discuss the health care report. My colleague, the Minister of Health and Social Services, has informed me that we have received written submissions = from both parties as to what they think are important components of a wellness strategy. Already the Minister of Health and Social Services and this government are at work developing a social inclusion strategy and a healthy aging strategy, both of which would flow nicely from a wellness framework.<= o:p>
In fact, the N=
DP
proposal speaks highly of the work that has already taken place on the heal=
thy
aging strategy and hearkens back to the NDP motion from November 2008, in w=
hich
they addressed their wellness concerns for seniors. Those concerns included
addressing preventive health care, education programs, ensuring adequate
pensions to support healthy lifestyles, additional home care workers, respi=
te
care and improved seniors housing, among other things.
The Liberal pr=
oposal
also speaks to increased options for in-home care and visits by health care
professionals for seniors. Already the Department of Health and Social Serv=
ices
has increased the
The replacemen=
t of one
of our seniors residences and opening of the new beds in the Thomson Centre=
has
also been announced.
We are already=
taking
some of the actions necessary to address some of the concerns raised by our
colleagues in the other two parties. All three parties, despite our
differences, recognize the value that our seniors contributed to this terri=
tory
and want to ensure that they have adequate support in place as they age and
when they need it. It is rare indeed, Mr. Speaker, that the three parties c=
an
agree, but we do appear to all be in support of the development of a wellne=
ss
approach.
We recognize t=
hat by
working together instead of in opposition to each other, we can change
attitudes and behaviours. I believe that we all agree that whatever approac=
h we
take, we must recognize responsibility; adequate investment; a comprehensiv=
e, research
driven and measurable strategy; actions to address the factors that impact =
on
wellness; and a continued focus on the critical issues that face us.
I know we agre=
e that
we all have a role to play in what comes next and how we much improve the
wellness of Yukoners, but before we head too far down the path about what we
need to do, we need to acknowledge that we are already doing a lot to suppo=
rt
the wellness and health of our residents. We are doing some fine work. Some=
of
the work is seldom, if ever, recognized and may not be seen as part of our
wellness framework, but it contributes to wellness of our citizens just the
same.
Mr. Speaker, I=
will
give some examples. In Faro, a group has come together for its second year =
to
run the local Biggest Losers co=
ntest.
One elementary school has, for several years, undertaken a bison hunt with
students. Carmacks ran a community greenhouse. These are all activities that
contribute to wellness. They are all about Yukoners mobilizing to support
fellow Yukoners. The Faro group — healthy eating, exercise, social
interaction, positive reinforcement — all about wellness. It’s =
not
about the final goal of how many pounds are lost; it’s about the jour=
ney,
and that creates wellness.
Mr. Speaker, a=
bison
hunt — it’s cultural exposure and awareness, it contributes to
wellness as does the healthy food naturally grown. Mr. Speaker, think back.
Nothing tastes better than a carrot pulled from a garden that you have grown
yourself — the taste, the satisfaction of knowing that you were respo=
nsible.
Mr. Speaker, w=
ellness
is about so much more than health. It’s about making things easy for
people to do; it’s about giving people options and the knowledge to m=
ake
the right choices; it’s about community.
When I say it&=
#8217;s
about community, it’s about trails in communities. As an example, this
government invests, through the community development fund, in creating tra=
ils
in my community of
We support rec=
reation
facilities in communities — once again, exercise, community involveme=
nt.
There are ski hills in some of our rural
In Dawson City=
, Robert
Service School partnered with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First
Nation on four projects: healthy drinking plus recipes for all students, a =
hot
lunch of chili and whole wheat buns for all, made by the seniors cooking cl=
ass,
the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in representatives and served by t=
he
high school students in Dawson City. Drop the Pop ran for three weeks and
winning classes got fruit kabobs, and a Robert Service school cookbook.
In Takhini Ele=
mentary,
classes developed health menus that included a recess snack and lunch for t=
he
school. Each class developed a poster, and a dietician selected the most nu=
trition
poster. The most nutritious lunch was made for the whole school. Recipes we=
re
collected for a cookbook. Classes also participated in brain gym activities
during the morning recess to promote healthy living.
Mr. Speaker, t=
he
school in Faro prepared high fibre muffins for the whole school twice a week
for a month. Nutritious cookies and hot chocolate were made to toast aftern=
oon
sledding and skating outings. Singer songwriter Steve Slade helped classes
write and perform songs on healthy eating and physical activities and the
making of traditional Kaska drums and the making of bannock served with moo=
se
stew was done by grade 4s through to 8. The home economics class made fruit
smoothies for all students and teachers. A recipe book was made; fresh fruit
was distributed and home economic class prepared lessons for students on
nutritional and healthy eating. These are just some of the actions that flo=
wed
from the project.
Late last mont=
h, the
Department of Health and Social Services also sponsored a public presentati=
on
on how to talk to kids about sex. A sexual health education specialist was =
here
from
Dr. Julia Saun=
ders was
here to share her knowledge and help parents and youth answer questions and
gain the knowledge they need to make the right decisions. Is it time to tel=
l my
children about sex? How much do I tell him or her? As a worker, what do I do
when someone asks me a question or asks for advice? As a youth, how do I ke=
ep
myself safe? What are my options for safe sex?
Wellness is no=
t simply
about safe sex or eating healthily. It’s about so much more than
lifestyle changes. Wellness is a state of physical, psychological, social a=
nd
spiritual well-being that enables individuals to live life to the fullest,
achieve their fullest potential and be active, contributing members of the
community in which they live.
Run for Mom is=
an
annual walk/run to raise money for breast health programs in the
This is about
wellness, Mr. Speaker, not just the fact that we can detect this cancer
earlier, but the wellness of the community who participates in fundraising.=
This endeavour=
is led
largely by volunteers, with significant input from businesses and governmen=
t in
a lesser, supporting role. It clearly demonstrates that no one sector can d=
o it
all and bring together such a broad group of supporters. It also brings
together the different perspectives that are needed. Together we are strong=
and
healthier.
Everyone has something to contribut= e to enrich and support our community. I could expound on examples of wellness f= or the rest of the afternoon, but I won’t. I would like to hear what oth= er members have to say about wellness, what their views are what they think efforts should be and where efforts should be made. Wellness is not just ab= out health and health is not just about the absence of disease or infirmity.
Wellness is about practising health= y ways of living and making healthy choices. Wellness is about making sure that the places that define our lives — our work, our home, our community R= 12; are supportive of good decisions. Yukoners should be proud of their health = care system, as indeed Canadians should be proud of their system also. Much of w= hat causes Yukoners to use the system is largely preventable.
We believe that a wellness framewor=
k will
help us place more emphasis on things that will support and help
This will impr=
ove
wellness and quality of life and reduce the burden on Yukoners, their famil=
ies,
their communities and the health care system. We can help those who face
challenges of chronic disease, heart disease, lung disease, cancer, arthrit=
is,
and mental illness.
Threats from
infectious diseases are also a challenge. Only yesterday the
Mr. Speaker, h= ealth is determined by many factors: heredity, age, sex and gender, a mother’s health during pregnancy and early childhood development. It can be impacted= by where we live, how much money we have and the quality of health, social services and educational services available in our community. Most of these factors lie beyond the reach of the health care system. Actions to influence them will require a broad governmental effort and a community effort as wel= l. This government’s effort will see results in the wellness framework.<= o:p>
Mr. Speaker, in
closing, we are developing a wellness approach that supports this
government’s platform commitment to help Yukoners achieve a better
quality of life. It will build on the good work the Department of Health and
Social Services is already doing and planning to do. We will work with other
departments to build those wellness supports that are needed outside of what
health can control — education, housing, safe water.
Undoubtedly,
as a wellness approach develops — for this will be an evolving process
— all of us will have a better understanding of not only the idea of
wellness, but how in the end this notion will contribute to a sustainabilit=
y of
wellness in the community and a sustainability of healthy living in the com=
munities.
Mr.
Speaker, we need to do anything and everything possible to help Yukoners wi=
th
healthy living.
Mr. Mitchell:
First of all,
let’s just get the suspense out of the way right away; the Official
Opposition Liberal caucus will of course be supporting this motion. How cou=
ld
we not support it? We’ve tabled many notices of motion ourselves
addressing similar areas. As has been pointed out, I am a member of the hea=
lth
oversight committee, along with the Member for Whitehorse Centre and, of
course, the Health and Social Services minister. We did meet on February 17.
Obviously this is a positive direction that we all can endorse.
In the budget =
speech,
the Premier said and I quote: “On
Mr. Speaker, i=
n doing
this in
I submitted so=
me
recommendations to the minister, which he requested of me and of the Member=
for
Mount Lorne — who was acting in that capacity at the time. I’m =
just
going to go through them now and get them into the record, because over the=
past
few months, I’ve met with many health care providers and people who
belong to organizations that address not only health but social inclusion, =
as
the Member for Klondike mentioned, including members of the Yukon Anti-Pove=
rty
Coalition. The Anti-Poverty Coalition acts as an umbrella organization for a
number of NGOs that deal with poverty, wellness, social inclusion and healt=
h on
behalf of Yukoners, including the Whitehorse Food Bank and many others like=
the
Yukon Status of Women Council, Victoria Faulkner, Kaushee’s and other
organizations.
The submission=
that I
made reflects upon input that was received from many people, so areas that =
we
in the Official Opposition — the Liberal caucus — feel that the
committee should focus on — and that the government should focus on
— a wellness strategy that includes a comprehensive strategy to impro=
ve
the availability in Yukon of affordable and healthy housing. Now, it may se=
em
that when we’re talking about wellness, people think of it in terms of
old fashioned views of health, but, in fact, it has been established by many
social agencies and non-governmental organizations —including the mem=
bers
of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition — that affordable and healthy or =
safe
housing is a primary social determinant of health.
While the gove=
rnment
has worked to address this issue through a number of new initiatives in
Whitehorse and some rural communities — and I’m sure that the Y=
ukon
Housing minister will refer to a number of those when he addresses this mot=
ion
— there is a demonstrated need for additional, affordable housing uni=
ts.
We’re not just talking about social housing, Mr. Speaker, but afforda=
ble
housing.
Now, last year=
the
Anti-Poverty Coalition conducted a survey of their clientele or the cliente=
le
of many of the member organizations. What they found regarding the currently
available housing for lower-income people in Whitehorse
Again, we̵=
7;re
talking about lower income people, but in point of fact, Mr. Speaker, I thi=
nk
the average house in the City of Whitehorse is now somewhere around $350,00=
0.
That’s not affordable for very many people, not just lower income peo=
ple.
It’s difficult to maintain one’s wellness if you don’t st=
art
out with a safe, comfortable, stable home in which to raise your family.
Mr. Speaker, d=
iet and
exercise can contribute to a better standard of health for Yukoners. Several
diseases such as type 2 diabetes are largely a function of poor dietary cho=
ices
and lack of exercise, leading to moderate or severe obesity in many people.
First Nation individuals are statistically at greater risk of developing ty=
pe 2
diabetes during their lifetime than the general population. The rapid incre=
ase
in diabetes in our population over the past 25 years can largely be attribu=
ted
to poor diet and lack of exercise. We move more and more to pre-packaged fo=
od,
to food that is not based on whole grains and other whole cereals and on
vegetables and their best method of preparation, but to processed foods whe=
re
much of the nutrient value has been removed for the convenience of long sto=
rage
life and shipping over great distances, and we’re paying a price for
that.
There is also =
evidence
that some children do not arrive at school prepared to learn, because they
haven’t had a nutritious breakfast or, in some cases, a nutritious di=
nner
the evening before. I know that many teachers bring extra food with them ev=
ery
day to augment the diet of some of the children who arrive at school not
prepared to learn.
Improved fundi=
ng to
programs such as the local Food for Learning organization, which provides an
in-school breakfast program at several
This is someth=
ing that
is important. Children can’t learn properly if they can’t focus=
on
learning because they’re hungry. Their brains don’t function
properly if they don’t have the proper nutrition.
Funding to all=
ow
Whitehorse residents and indeed all Yukoners who are economically challenge=
d to
access the Canada Games Centre, which could either be provided by the terri=
tory
directly to the City of Whitehorse and provided to non-governmental organiz=
ations
through the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition or some other organization, would =
lead
to improved wellness for many of the economically challenged people across
Yukon. It’s a much better use of government funds to create wellness
rather than treat disease.
Increased opti=
ons for
home care visits and visits by other health professionals for seniors ̵=
2;
Even with bett=
er
health care and lifestyle choices, seniors make greater use of the health c=
are
system so it will save money and improve the lives of seniors if we assist =
them
in living in their own homes longer instead of moving them into extended ca=
re
facilities.
Increased effo=
rts in
implementing the alcohol, drug and tobacco reduction strategy — this =
is
something where this government has had some success in moving forward but =
we
need to do more. Alcohol and substance abuse, illegal and prescription drugs
both, and use of tobacco products put increased pressure on our health care
system by leading to disease and deteriorating health in Yukoners. The effe=
ct
of alcohol- and substance-abuse reduction programs, including education, im=
proved
residential treatment options and harm-reduction strategies can reduce the
financial and human costs of these activities and reduce dollars spent on
treating negative health outcomes that result from substance abuse.
Similarly, tob=
acco use
leads to increased rates of pulmonary and heart disease and cancer. It lead=
s to
emphysema and other preventable diseases. Money spent educating and assisti=
ng
Yukoners to quit smoking will save many dollars downstream in our health ca=
re
system.
Mr. Speaker, t=
here are
those diseases that are communicable. We talked yesterday in here about the
$1.8 million that the Department of Health and Social Services spent on the=
immunization
program to combat the H1N1 pandemic, but there are many, many other diseases
that are more environmentally caused or instigated, and those we can addres=
s.
Most of us here in this Assembly today are wearing the symbol of having mad=
e a
donation to the Canadian Cancer Society. Cancer is not a communicable disea=
se,
Mr. Speaker. There are certainly genetic or hereditary reasons why some peo=
ple
may be more prone to getting cancer than others, but there are many, many
environmental reasons — things in our workplace and absence of certain
nutrients in our daily diets, lack of healthy lifestyle and exercise —
that could have an impact on this.
Mr. Speaker, s=
ome time
ago, the
Fifty-eight pe=
rcent of
Yukoners reported being active to moderately active. That’s according=
to
the Canadian community health survey in 2003. That means that 42 percent of=
Yukoners
don’t even report or self-report being moderately active or active at
all.
Currently, ove=
r half
of the
Active living =
is an
inclusive way of looking at physical activity that allows all people to work
toward improving their health at their own pace. Active living is a way of =
life
in which physical activity is valued and integrated into one’s daily
life. The benefits of being active every day are endless, and they include:
better overall health; reduced risk, as I’ve said previously, of type=
2
diabetes, heart disease and stroke; healthy weight management; increased
relaxation and positive moods; stronger muscles and bones; better posture a=
nd
balance; increased energy levels; and decreased stress.
Mr. Speaker, I=
did say
that I would return to a summary of New Brunswick’s wellness strategy
action plan from 2009-10, entitled =
Live
well, be well, from the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport. In t=
his
strategy, the
In schools, wh=
ich they
said includes educators, support staff, students, district education counci=
ls,
parents and parent organizations — we have parent advisory councils, =
one
school board and community partners — they talked about partnerships =
and
collaboration, engaging in new partnerships that help to promote wellness in
school settings, supporting wellness with the implementation of their
Department of Education strategy and education plan, entitled When kids come first and participa=
ting
in a joint consortium of school health with a focus on the renewal process.=
They talk about
building for community development, providing school wellness grants, and a
comprehensive school health framework to help schools develop and implement
their own wellness action plans, including vegetable and fruit grants and t=
obacco-free
school grants. They talk about a number of other things that can be done in=
the
schools. Again, in terms of developing and supporting healthy policies, the=
y recommend
enhancing the capacity of stakeholders to support their Department of
Education’s policy that is entitled Healthier
Foods and Nutrition in Public Schools.
So, there are =
a number
of recommendations there. In communities, again, they focus on partnerships=
and
collaboration. They talk about some non-governmental agencies that they can
partner with, including the Healthy Eating Physical Activity Coalition of N=
ew
Brunswick, Mouvement acadien des communautés en santé du
Nouveau-Brunswick and the New Brunswick Anti-Tobacco Coalition, and they
identify engaging First Nation communities in dialogue around improving the
state of wellness in First Nation communities throughout the province. Agai=
n,
approximately 25 percent of Yukoners are First Nation, and we know there are
serious issues of diabetes in First Nation communities on a percentage basi=
s.
In home settin=
g, again
they talk about establishing a premiers committee on healthy families,
supporting the implementation of their Department of Social Development
strategy Be Ready for Success: A 10=
year
Early Childhood Strategy for New Brunswick, support wellness with the
implementation of the senior and healthy aging strategy, long-term care
strategy, Be Independent. Longer.
There’s lots of detail here and there’s also a workplace sectio=
n.
I’m not =
going to
read them all, but I encourage the minister to make use of the good work
that’s being done by other jurisdictions. I’m confident the
department will do that.
In the final r=
eport
from September 2008 on the Yukon He=
alth
Care Review and in the summaries document that was sent to members of t=
he
oversight committee, some things were identified that would certainly be pa=
rt
of wellness. For example, some of the improvements that could be made that =
Yukoners
suggested — many suggestions for improving our health care system =
212;
and I’ll just read out a few that focus on wellness. Focus more on
prevention, education, wellness, expand home care services — especial=
ly
in the communities — partnerships with First Nations to deliver home =
care
and palliative care services, more collaborative and alternative health care
options.
There is certa=
inly a
lot more in that report and in the recommendations that we could look at.
Recommendations were made by the different groups — and I’m not
sure if I’m going to find those handy; I’ve got so many tabs and
reports in front of me that it’s hard to find them all — but ag=
ain,
I think it was RPAY who made a submission or perhaps it was the Yukon’=
;s department.
I will just take a moment to find it, Mr. Speaker.
Well, suffice =
it to
say, Mr. Speaker, that there are recommendations to focus more on activity.
Here it is, the YTG Sport and Recreation branch, suggested to develop a
strategy that parallels the pan-Canadian healthy living strategy and incorp=
orates
existing
This is a subm=
ission
from YTG Sport and Recreation branch dated
I just want to=
touch
briefly on some comments that have been made about providing community heal=
th
by the Premier, the Member for
The question w=
as, what
should it be replaced with? Where is the evidence of the consultation with =
the
Yukon Medical Association or the Yukon Registered Nurses Association on what
type of health care facility should be built? The Premier has often cited t=
he
cost of medical travel, including the travel Outside. Surely he’s not
intending that there is going to be health care provided in either Watson L=
ake
or Dawson, such as MRIs or other advanced technologies that won’t exi=
st
in Whitehorse, and so rural communities will replace the need to medevac pe=
ople
Outside for some of the more expensive treatment. It has always been the
principle that we do what we can in
So let’s=
be
clear: what we were asking for was how a decision was made originally to bu=
ild
a multi-level health care facility in these two communities and then that
morphed into a replacement of the aging hospital. Then that somehow has now
become two, $25-million hospitals, whose goals and objectives have never be=
en
clearly defined in this Assembly.
I’m hopi=
ng that
when the Premier is next on his feet, or the Health minister, they will
acknowledge that we do not oppose there not being better health care facili=
ties
in the communities of Dawson and Watson Lake, because that simply
wouldn’t be factual.
I hear the Pre=
mier
excited off-mic about that clarification and clearing up some of his confus=
ion,
so I’m glad that we’ve at least accomplished that today, Mr.
Speaker.
In any case, t=
here are
others who want to speak, and I’m not going to speak much longer on t=
his,
other than to say that there is much that has already been done. There are
other reports such as Working Well:=
A
Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies, wh=
ich
is also one that talks about the priorities across the world, including
Building on the
foundation of the work that has been done, I’m hopeful we can move
forward to put a comprehensive wellness strategy in place in
Let’s no=
t have
any of this create another study that some other member of this Assembly re=
fers
to five or eight years from now, but rather a change in how we address heal=
th
care, because the way we’re doing it now is becoming ever more expens=
ive
and ever less productive, trying to treat the diseases that are preventable.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Mr. Hart: <=
/span>It
gives me great pleasure to stand up today and speak to this motion. I’=
;d
like to thank the member opposite for some of his comments. At this time, M=
r.
Speaker, I’d also like to thank the member from the Third Party and t=
he
Leader of the Official Opposition for the comments they sent to me from our
meeting on February 17, with regard to my request for wellness issues that =
they
could bring up in there. I’d like to thank them here on the floor of =
the
House for sending that information to me.
With regard to=
the
member opposite talking about cancer, I think I will talk just quickly on t=
his
one and get into my speech. With regard to cancer issues, this being cancer
month, I think the member opposite talked about healthy lifestyles, healthy
eating. It doesn’t always mean in many cases that individuals have to=
be
involved in a sport. In many cases, a healthy lifestyle really means a brisk
walk, a steady walk or a consistent walk during the week for all individual=
s to
get in their exercise for that week and ensure that process.
There is a req=
uirement
for individuals to ensure that they do have a good diet, and I will get into
that later on in my address. The member opposite talked about other issues,
health issues that can assist with those who have been afflicted with cance=
r.
I’d like to also state that I know several individuals who have been
diagnosed with cancer who have changed their lifestyle, their eating habits=
and
the way they just go about everyday life, substantially, and it has made a
massive improvement in their lifestyle. That has gone from organic foods to=
a
total change in what they eat, a total change in how they exercise, a total
change of their whole lifestyle, and it has provided an excellent reprieve =
from
the cancer in many cases and has also enabled them to carry on with a very
enjoyable lifestyle.
I guess what I=
would
like to say is, if it works for you, then do it. I think that’s a very
important element: if it works for you, carry on and do it and let’s =
hope
you can continue on with that process.
I’ll spe=
ak this
afternoon about this government’s support and intention to develop a
wellness approach for the
Now I’ll=
just
provide a small bit of French here. Cet
après-midi, je veux vous dire que le gouvernement a l’intentio=
n de
favoriser le mieux-être au
In 2005,
What the minis=
ters of
health wanted in 2005 is the same thing that we are looking for here today:=
a
healthy nation where all Canadians experience the conditions that support t=
he attainment
of good health. They, as we do, want to see improved overall health outcomes
and reduce health disparities.
In September 2=
008, the
report in the Yukon Health Care Rev=
iew
on the sustainability of the health care system in
I’d like=
to
express my thanks to the members of the Health Care Review Oversight Commit=
tee.
Last month we met and I’ve since received written submissions from bo=
th
parties about what they think are important in the components of that welln=
ess
strategy, as I indicated earlier.
Before I go to=
o much
further, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to repaint the wellness strategy as a
wellness framework under which would flow as many different strategies as we
can create or as many as we need here in the Yukon. A framework is much bro=
ader
and gives us much more flexibility to respond to the ever-changing needs of=
our
constituents.
Already this
government is at work developing a social inclusion strategy and a healthy
aging strategy, both of which will flow nicely from a wellness framework.
As my colleague
mentioned earlier, the NDP proposal speaks of the work that has already tak=
en
place on the healthy aging strategy that ties back to the NDP motion from a
couple of years ago, in which they stated their wellness concerns for senio=
rs,
including addressing preventive health care education programs, assuring
adequate pensions to support healthy lifestyles, additional home care worke=
rs,
respite care, and improved senior housing, among other things.
The proposal I
received from the Liberals also mentioned increased options for in-home care
and visits by health professionals for seniors, as the member opposite had =
also
indicated in his speech here to the House.
We have taken =
action
in some of these areas. Already, my department has increased the
We are already=
taking
some of the actions necessary to address some of the concerns raised by my
colleagues in the other two parties.
I think we can=
all say
that all three parties, despite our differences, recognize the value of our
seniors who contributed to this territory over the years and decades. We wa=
nt
to ensure that they have adequate supports in place as they age and assist =
them
where they need.
It is rare, in=
deed,
that three parties can agree, but we do appear to all be in support of the
development of a wellness framework, as the member opposite indicated in his
initial address that he would be supporting this issue.
We recognize t=
hat, by
working together instead of in opposition to each other, we can change
attitudes and behaviours. Also, I think we can address one of the major iss=
ues
brought forth by Yukoners in the health care review. One of the major issues
that was consistent through all the comments that were obtained by Dr. Redd=
och
and his company going around to communities was to ensure — one of the
big issues was that people felt it was important for individuals to ensure =
that
they look after themselves. In other words, get themselves educated on what=
’s
required to keep themselves healthy and keep themselves in their homes long=
er
and in their communities longer in a healthier situation.
I think we can=
agree
that whatever approach we must take, we must recognize some key principles,
including responsibility, adequate investment, comprehensive research-driven
and measurable strategy, action to address the factors that impact on welln=
ess,
and a continued focus on the critical issues that face us.
Before we head=
too far
down the path of what we need to do, I would say here that there is a need =
to
acknowledge that we are already doing many things to support the wellness a=
nd
health of our residents. Some of the work that is already being done is sel=
dom
ever recognized and may not be seen as part of the wellness framework in a
formal sense, but they contribute to wellness of our citizens just the same=
.
Recreation and=
Parks
Association Yukon has an initiative that reaches across the span of wellnes=
s.
The RHEAL program — it stands for Rural Healthy and Active Living =
212;
is all about increasing opportunities for active and healthy living in rura=
l
Activities inc=
luded a
running program and a play program in Faro. Pilates and yoga occur in sever=
al
communities, including Beaver Creek, where a travelling instructor shared h=
er
knowledge. An aikido program was offered in Haines Junction for both adults=
and
children. In Faro and in Tagish, carpet bowling was a hit. In Carcross the
cross-country ski program introduced students from grade 1 through grade 4 =
to
cross-country skiing and reinforced the existing skills in grade
These are all
activities that contribute to wellness. They are all about Yukoners mobiliz=
ing
to support fellow Yukoners. Wellness is so much more than health. It is abo=
ut
making healthy things easy for people to do. It is about giving people heal=
thy
lifestyle choices and the knowledge to make the right choices. It is about =
the
community.
Mr. Speaker, w=
ellness
activities include many items in one’s own personal use of the day.
Issues, for example, in the summer cover such things as gardening, boating =
and
just general housework around the house — all those activities require
individuals to move about, be active and put some exercise into the process=
. I
think every one of us is starting to get the itch here with the warming
weather. We’re looking at our yards, starting to see the grass come up
and we’re all looking — maybe some of us are not looking forwar=
d to
raking of the lawn and trying to get it all cleaned up and making it look
better, and also getting us prepared for the summer. I am one who is looking
forward to that process. I’m already in the repair mode of my shed in=
the
back, and I am working on the roof there. I can see that the grass is going=
to
come through in the next week or so, and we’ll have to do remediation
work on that from the amount of snow we got this year, and we hope to bring
that through.
This year, the=
Department
of Health and Social Services’ health promotion unit changed the way =
it
delivered the Drop the Pop program. Now, for the past several years —=
I
think six — the
This year, how=
ever,
organizers changed things up. For one, Drop the Pop was opened to all
Schools receiv=
ed
funding to support their projects, and I am happy to tell you that 26 of th=
e 28
We provided se=
ed money
and then let the creativity of the schools and communities run with it.
Government, in this case, only served as a stimulus. We provided them with =
the
action, and we allowed them to come up with the project for them to move fo=
rward.
As my colleague
mentioned earlier, there are activities happening in the communities, such =
as
Robert Service School in Dawson City, partnering with Tr’ondëk
Hwëch’in First Nation on four projects — healthy drinking =
plus
recipes for all students, a hot lunch of chili and whole wheat buns for all
made by the senior cooking class, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in r=
epresentatives
and served by the high school students. In Dawson, Drop the Pop ran for thr=
ee
weeks and winning classes got fruit kebabs and a Robert Service School
cookbook— very healthy activities indeed, Mr. Speaker.
At this point,=
I would
like to take the opportunity to discuss the Yukon
Nutrition Framework. This, too, is all about wellness. I would just lik=
e to
provide a couple of excerpts from this publication. It basically provides w=
hy
we need to review the nutrition for our children and for ourselves, how we =
promote
healthy eating, how we improve food security, support for special populatio=
ns
and address nutrition and health issues.
Mr. Speaker, I=
would
like to just briefly provide a couple of points on each one of those
categories. Under the promotion of healthy eating practices, the objectives=
are
to “Develop policies and guidelines that support healthy eating. Crea=
te,
expand and maintain educational programs, resources or services that provide
nutrition expertise and information on healthy eating.”
Again, this is=
to take
place in our schools, workplaces and communities and is being provided by
health care professionals.
Mr. Speaker,
we’re also looking at improving food security. The objective here:
“Create, maintain and sustain initiatives to improve access to adequa=
te,
safe, affordable and appropriate food for all Yukoners.” Again, I thi=
nk
it sort of speaks for itself on dealing with food in the process.
Mr. Speaker, s=
upport
for special populations and individuals and their nutritional needs:
“Create or enhance maintain initiatives to support optimal nutrition =
for
special populations and their nutritional needs.” Again, we’re
dealing with First Nation people, pregnancies and infants, elderly who are =
homebound,
persons living with mental illness or cognitive disabilities. These are all=
individuals
who require special attention and special diets. Also, we’re looking =
at
addressing nutrition related health issues facing Yukoners. Objectives under
that are to create or support group programs, resources, services that prom=
ote
awareness and prevention of nutrition-related chronic disease; create and
enhance and maintain initiatives to support optimal clinical, nutritional
services for all Yukoners.
Again, these a=
re all
things that face all Yukoners. This booklet provides a good cross-section of
services related to all Yukoners, covering diabetes, it provides education =
on
items that are needed and provides references on where to find the addition=
al
information and also background on all issues with regard to wellness, a
healthy and nutritional lifestyle for all Yukoners. It’s something I
highly recommend and I table it here for the Legislative Assembly and offer=
it
for individuals here to review.
This newly pub=
lished
framework aims at building and expanding nutritional services, with a focus=
on
healthy eating, food security, chronic health conditions and special popula=
tions.
This project has been a collaborative effort and speaks to the fact that go=
od
nutrition is an important part of individual community health and well-bein=
g.
It is but one aspect of wellness.
Wellness is no=
t simply
about safe sex or eating healthy; it’s about so much more than lifest=
yle
changes. Wellness is a state of physical, psychological, social and spiritu=
al
well-being that enables individuals to live life to the fullest, achieve th=
eir
fullest potential and to be active, contributing members of the community in
which they live. We have heard this message before and we will hear it again
and again as we develop a wellness framework and discuss the matter over the
coming months and years.
Wellness is no=
t just
health, and health is not just about the absence of disease or infirmity.
Again, this is one of the pervasive messages that we have heard. We will he=
ar
it again as we continue the wellness conversation over the coming months and
years. Wellness is about practising healthy ways of living and making healt=
hy
choices.
Wellness is ab=
out
making sure that the places that define our lives — our place of work,
our home, our community — are supportive of good decisions. Yukoners =
can
and are proud of their health care system; however, we should note that muc=
h of
what causes Yukoners to use the system is largely preventive. A wellness
framework will help us place more emphasis on things that will support and =
help
Mr. Speaker, t=
hat just
corroborates the statement that was made by many Yukoners in the health care
review, stating that it was important for Yukoners to look after their own
health to ensure that they can keep up and reduce the burden on the system.
Ensuring that one is well means taking care of yourself in many different w=
ays.
I am speaking about individual health yet, at the same time, taking care of=
our
own health is greater than what the health care system can accomplish alone=
. We
need to play an active, ongoing role in our lives to ensure our own health =
and
wellness.
We also know t=
he role
that prevention has in meeting health challenges that we may face. We know =
that
if we can target diseases by preventing them or delaying their onset, and i=
f we
can reduce their severity, we can improve the quality of life and reduce the
negative effects of the disease on ourselves, our families, our communities,
the health care system and of course our society.
We must also r=
ecognize
that prevention is not always possible. For those who are prone to disease =
or
are suffering from some ailment, it is important to assist them as they live
with the disease and to manage their system and maintain a healthy lifestyle
for as much as possible for that individual.
We know that h=
ealth is
determined by many factors, including heredity, age, sex, gender, a
mother’s health during pregnancy and early childhood development.
Speaker: I’m sorry. Honourable member, your =
time
has expired. I was so enthralled by the speech, I ignored the time. My
apologies. I’ll try not to do the same with the next speaker.
You have the f=
loor,
Member for
Mr. Cardiff: I’ll try to be as exciting or more exciting.
I’m glad to be here today to speak to this motion, urging the governm=
ent
to develop a wellness strategy to promote healthy living habits for all
Yukoners. And like the Leader of the Official Opposition, I was given an
opportunity to provide some comments to the Minister of Health and Social S=
ervices
about our thoughts on a wellness strategy.
I think the fo=
cus of a
wellness strategy should be to improve the health of
If you’l=
l excuse
my coughing, I had a chest cold on the weekend that I caught from one of my
seatmates last week; however, I’m feeling much healthier today.
I would like t=
o also
reference the wellness strategy that was done in
I want to spea=
k about
shared responsibility; it talks about the shared responsibility in a wellne=
ss
strategy — this is a quote — “A wellness strategy should =
be
framed around shared responsibilities between individuals, communities,
families and government.” It also goes on to say, “No one
government, no one agency, no one group can make this change alone. We all =
have
to do it together. It is only through the development of partnerships with
government agencies, community organizations and the willingness of people =
that
we can make a difference to our present state of wellness.”
The last thing
I’d like to quote from this is: “Shared responsibility does not
mean that we can shirk responsibility off on someone else, but that we are =
each
individually and collectively responsible for our own health and for the he=
alth
of others.” We have to remember that, that we bear individual respons=
ibility
but that we have a collective responsibility to our neighbours, to our
children, to all the citizens of the
Individual peo=
ple
exist in a community and we believe that any wellness strategy must be part=
of
a broader health promotion strategy that deals with root causes and empower=
s communities
to create healthy environments. Wellness programming that only targets
individual behaviours is going to be less effective in populations that
experience poverty and inadequate housing. We believe that you cannot separ=
ate
the ideas for wellness from the social determinants of health, which includ=
e,
according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, income equality — wh=
ich
is why we asked questions today about the minimum wage and a guaranteed ann=
ual
income — social inclusion and exclusion; employment and working
conditions; social and physical environments, including environmental conce=
rns;
healthy child development; education and literacy; food security; housing a=
nd
gender issues.
When the minis=
ter
asked us to submit some of our comments to him about a wellness strategy, he
indicated there was hopefully going to be a focus on seniors and youth. I t=
hink
that’s important, because we need to recognize the contribution that
seniors have made to our society and we need to ensure that they live healt=
hy,
productive and fulfilling lives once they’ve retired, and that
they’re still able to contribute to our society and share their knowl=
edge
and experience with us. At the same time, we need to be concerned about our
youth, give them an opportunity to be part of society and to grow up healthy
and able to participate in our community, in the workforce and to have that
self-esteem and sense of well-being.
A lot of that =
has been
touched on here by other speakers. I’m going to go over some of it, b=
ut
I’ll try not to be too repetitive.
First of all, =
we
congratulated the department for the workshop that they held in early March,
where seniors were able to come together to discuss wellness and healthy ag=
ing.
We also pointed out that in the Yuk=
on
Health Care Review 59 percent of respondents said they wanted to see
expanded home care, community support programs and assisted living. We
recognize that the government has made some steps in that area, but we beli=
eve
that more is going to have to be done due to our aging population, some of =
whom
are in this room. I’m getting a look from the Member for Southern Lak=
es,
who is a member of the youth caucus, I remember. It is very true that we do
have an aging population; that is what the statistics are telling us. At the
same time, as was referenced earlier, a large portion of our population =
212;
and there are a lot of health concerns — are in First Nation communit=
ies.
They’re growing — and there’s a growing aging population
there, but there’s also a growing youth population.
With regard to
seniors, we felt that implementing preventive health care education programs
for seniors, assuring that seniors’ pensions provide for a healthy
lifestyle so they can get out and be active and not shut in, so to speak, in
their residences, supporting seniors community volunteer programs so they c=
an
get out and be part of the community and feel active and fulfilled and part=
icipate.
That lends to their well-being and to their wellness.
I mentioned ho=
me care earlier
and expanding that program, but it also means training relatives and friends
who are caring for some of those senior citizens and their families and pro=
viding
that assistance so they can live in their homes. I was speaking with my mot=
her
earlier this week and found out that her aunt, my great aunt, who just rece=
ntly
turned, I believe, it was 92, is now basically being told that she’s
going to have to move into a home.
That is, excus=
e me, a
helluva accomplishment, Mr. Speaker, to live in your own home by yourself u=
ntil
you are 92 years of age. I believe that if you’re able to. It was with
the support of home care and people coming in and engaging her and keeping =
her
mentally active, that led to her being able to live in her own home until s=
he
was 92 or 93. I think that is incredible and it is great that she was able =
to
do it. It was family. It was community people who came in and provided
assistance and it was home care. It is training for relatives and friends w=
ho
were caring for those seniors, expanding respite care for those relatives a=
nd
friends who were caring for those seniors, providing financial assistance f=
or
those relatives and friends who are caring for seniors and expanding progra=
ms
of financial assistance that support those seniors living at home, and of
course, housing.
We need to ens=
ure that
housing is adequate and that seniors are benefiting from physical activity.
There are a lot of seniors’ organizations that encourage them to be
physically active — the ElderActive Recreation Association. There are
lots of seniors who still participate in many sports and community activiti=
es,
and we need to encourage that.
I’d like=
to also
speak a little bit about youth. Housing is a concern for them as well. It c=
omes
back to that income issue to some extent, and the ability to have a job that
provides you with an income to get adequate secure housing and food.
When children =
grow up
in poverty, they have more illnesses, they perform poorly in school and they
have more mental health problems. When they grow up, they earn less when th=
ey
are adults.
Research shows=
that
for every dollar the country invests in giving children a good start in lif=
e,
it saves seven dollars for health and other problems that arise when
children’s needs are not met. Helping children out of poverty is mora=
lly,
socially and economically productive and it is also necessary.
Encouraging our
children to live healthy lifestyles, to not smoke and to make the right cho=
ices
is something that needs to be included in a wellness strategy —
encouraging them to work safe and play safe, to be active but to be safe.
I’ve heard lots about physical activity and encouraging people to be
active, but at the same time, they need to be safe.
We talked abou=
t this a
little bit about a year and a half ago, when we were talking about the Young Worker Protection Act and ho=
w we
need to ensure that not only are our children, when they’re in the
workplace, being paid fairly and adequately, but that they’re working=
in
a safe manner, and that the workplaces they work in are safe. There are
programs through WCB that are helping to do that, and there are programs th=
at
teach children, our young people, not to take risks when they are pursuing
recreational activities and when they’re out with their friends. I th=
ink
we need to ensure they’re not taking those risks. I believe it’s
the PARTY program that is part of that.
Involving yout=
h in
defining wellness and designing their own programming — that’s =
an
important part of it, involving the youth in defining that wellness and
designing their own programming, because they’ll buy into it.
That’s what some of that programming is about.
Programs that =
do not
directly deal with healthy eating and active living still contribute to
wellness in youth — as an example, arts and cultural programming all
contribute to the wellness of young people.
I would like t=
o speak
a little bit about inclusion. I know my time is limited and the one thing t=
hat
I would like to say is that, as I said earlier, wellness programming that
targets individual behaviour is going to be less effective in populations t=
hat
experience poverty and inadequate housing. We need to be sure that we do not
blame those people for the situation that they are in. We need to go back to
this shared responsibility and take collective responsibility to ensure that
we’re looking after those least fortunate. We believe in investment in
the people side of health care, and that is why we’ve been asking abo=
ut
operation and maintenance budgets. That is why we’re concerned about a
spending imbalance that is biased to the capital side and creating debt ins=
tead
of investing in the people side of it.
We’re as=
king
about front-line workers who are in the most direct contact with some of
society’s most excluded. Recently we heard a report that front-line
social workers may have caseloads that are more than double the best-practi=
ce
guidelines. Workplace conditions may not allow these front-line workers to
facilitate the inclusion and the wellness of their clients.
There’s = a lot more I could say. The other thing, I guess, that I would like to touch on i= s, when it comes to wellness and including people in society and inclusion, in some communities we’re seeing an absence or a shortage of childcare, = and that inhibits opportunities for wellness, because it inhibits people’s ability to participate in their communities and in the workforce. It’s important to their well-being and self-esteem to be able to participate in that. Childcare is one of the things that would facilitate the wellness of those individuals so that they can get out and be part of their community.<= o:p>
As I said, I k=
now
there’s much more that I could say on this, but I realize that my time
has flown by, so I’ll sit down and leave it to other members. Thank y=
ou.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member opp=
osite
that people are talking about sort of repetitive things, so I’m going=
to
take a little bit of a different tack and look of the overall picture and t=
hen
some specific areas that really have been alluded to, but haven’t rea=
lly
been gotten into.
Creating safer
communities is certainly part of the matrix, and it addresses the importanc=
e of
creating neighbourhoods that are safe and environments that are safe for our
most vulnerable citizens, as well as all of us — children, seniors and
persons with disabilities. We need to create environments where all Yukoners
can live, work, and play with peace of mind. Expanding housing for seniors =
and
women leaving abusive relationships — and really, anyone leaving an
abusive relationship, because, while women constitute a majority there,
it’s certainly not exclusive. We need to recognize the importance of
housing as the cornerstone of individual and family wellness. Giving our
children the best start in life by investing in childcare and early learning
builds strengths and resiliency for future generations.
Efforts to sup=
port and
diversify our economy address not only the wealth and prosperity of Yukoners
today, but build a future of hope and jobs for those who will be entering t=
he
workforce in the years and decades to come. Our Pathways to Prosperity document, which is available on-line, is=
a
plan for the next 20 years and recognizes that income is an important deter=
minant
of health. It’s part of the matrix.
We recognize t=
hat not
all Yukoners benefit equally from opportunities that are and will be availa=
ble.
It’s for this reason that we’re developing a social inclusion
strategy that addresses the hopes, needs and aspirations of those who have =
been
traditionally left out of the richness that the
This strategy,=
which
brings together many government departments in common purpose, will in the =
long
run reduce the disparities that exist within
There are eight
elements of wellness considered in one’s life that work together to
create fulfillment and satisfaction. This is really what we’re talking
about here. When each of us takes active steps to foster a higher level of
awareness and action in each area, we build a more whole and complete way of
living. There are eight aspects of wellness and they are: physical, emotion=
al,
social, occupational, intellectual, environmental, financial and spiritual.
Each of the eight aspects directly affects the other so the physical wellne=
ss,
for instance, has an effect on emotional wellness. Occupational wellness can
affect the social wellness and inclusion. Without a spiritual wellness plan,
many would feel a lack of purpose or meaning in their lives.
Intellectual w=
ellness
keeps our minds moving, curious and interested in learning new things. And,=
of
course, environmental wellness, the world around us has an immense impact on
all of us, really, whether that is our personal environment or the global
environment. Of course, financial security is essential to well-being.
It is importan=
t to pay
attention to each of these aspects regularly to achieve a more balanced lif=
e.
In practical terms, the development of a strategy will be an iterative proc=
ess,
potentially identifying four pillars or priorities that we could consider
establishing, including work already underway, as identifying work to be do=
ne
while the strategy is in its early days.
These pillars =
are
expected to include social inclusion, healthy aging — always an
interesting way of putting it — children and youth, which should incl=
ude
the important transitions to adulthood, and persons with disabilities. And =
this
pillar would include current important issues, such as transitions between
child and adult systems and supported housing.
I enjoyed the =
comment
from the Member for
In 1986, the O=
ttawa
Charter for Health Promotion recognized shelter as a basic prerequisite for
health. It’s only recently, however, that the researchers and
policy-makers focused on housing as an important determinant of health. Hou=
sing
insecurity can be determined by a variety of factors, including the number =
of
people who sleep in the streets — difficult for part of the year up h=
ere
and, of course, homelessness takes on a completely different meaning here t=
han
it would down south — use temporary shelters, live in substandard
dwellings, and who spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. I
need to point out on that that our rent-geared-to-income program is based o=
n 25
percent. It’s the lowest in
The Canada Mor=
tgage
and Housing Corporation uses the term “core need” — we he=
ar
that all the time in Yukon Housing Corporation — to track the number =
of
households unable to access adequate rental accommodation in their communit=
y.
The term measures affordability, suitability of accommodation and adequacy.
Increasing evidence shows that households with core housing needs face one =
or
more of the following issues: the affordability — again, the national
standard or line there is 30 percent; we consider it 25 — suitability=
, do
they live in overcrowded conditions; household size and composition exceeds=
the
actual home space requirements; and adequacy — the homes lack full
bathroom facilities or require significant repairs.
These intertwi=
ne in so
many ways. For instance, some of the disease statistics, particularly in =
span>
Ask any teache=
r or
childcare worker who’s exposed to large numbers of children, or anyon=
e in
a summer thing who is exposed to large numbers of adults. They tend to have
more disease. The housing aspect there has to be part of it.
Now, statistic=
ally,
about 60 percent of Canadians own their own home. The other 40 percent rent,
primarily in the private rental sector. Most rental households are concentr=
ated
in urban centres and when we look at the urban centres here, of course, we
think of
In recent year=
s there
has been a housing crisis in many different sectors for many different reas=
ons.
It has affected the larger urban centres with homelessness problems, drug p=
roblems;
it has affected all of us here, including
When the feder=
al
government stopped funding a good chunk of the social housing, the way they=
did
it was they set us on an exponential curve that shows that contribution com=
ing
from the feds decreasing each year. So that means, while we think we have a
problem now, each year that problem will get worse. The major inclusion of
funds into housing that has happened in the last couple of months or the la=
st
few months has been a welcome respite, but it delays problems; it doesnR=
17;t
solve them. We have an aging housing stock that continues to, in many respe=
cts,
be inadequate and we’re going to have a hard time keeping up with tha=
t.
At the same ti=
me, some
provinces have reduced social assistance rates; we’ve increased ours
— first time in about 20 years, but we increased them. But many provi=
nces
and jurisdictions have actually reduced them.
We have concer=
ns of
waiting lists for social housing or rent-geared-to-income housing in
The private se=
ctor
really hasn’t moved to replace the role of government by providing
affordable rental housing. In most jurisdictions, the private sector in
building housing is going to build what they are going to make a profit on.=
It
is difficult to get them to build something that isn’t going to be the
most profitable.
The document, =
Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living
Strategy, provides a conceptual framework for sustained action based on
healthy living. It envisions a healthy nation in which all Canadians experi=
ence
the conditions that would support the attainment of good health. The goals =
of
this study are really to improve overall health outcomes and to reduce the
disparities in health and risk.
Grounded in a
population-health approach, it emphasizes key modifiable risk factors for
chronic disease, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating and the relationship=
to
unhealthy weights. The approach focuses on living and working environments =
that
affect people’s health, the conditions that enable and support people=
in
making healthy choices and the services that promote and maintain health.
It also provid=
es a
national context and reference point for all sectors, including governments,
non-governmental organizations, aboriginal organizations and the private
sector. Utilizing these concepts, all stakeholders consider their role and =
what
their actions will be in healthy living. It offers a means to ensure greater
alignment, coordination and direction for all partners. It provides a forum=
for
multiple players to align efforts. It’s a tool for all to work
collaboratively to address common risk factors and a rallying point around
which like-minded partners can achieve shared results.
I should menti=
on at
this point that one of the leaders at the time in this, a number of years a=
go,
was the Village of Mayo, that sponsored a wellness fair over one weekend and
brought a number of speakers in and a number of displays, and sponsored a v=
ery
healthy meal. I think it drew more than the population of Mayo. I think peo=
ple
were coming in from a lot of other communities to attend that. It was an
incredible weekend for us. I think the Member for Mayo-Tatchun would have
enjoyed it, had he been able to attend.
Integration,
partnership and shared responsibility are all the best practices and guiding
principles — the key guiding principles really — of this whole
concept. The entire population has to be targeted on this, Mr. Speaker.
There’s no one group that we’re really looking at — with
particular emphasis on children and youth — those in isolated, remote=
and
rural areas, which includes a good chunk of the Yukon, and the aboriginal
communities. The settings that we have to focus on include home, family,
school, workplace, community and health care settings.
We look at hea=
lthy
living targets, which really most people agreed would seek to obtain a
20-percent increase by 2015 in the proportion of Canadians who are physical=
ly
active, eat healthy and are at healthy body weights. Data to measure progre=
ss
in these three indicators are taken from the Canadian community health surv=
ey of
2005. They set a baseline really against which progress will be monitored.
Physical activity, for instance, in 2005, it was calculated that 25 percent=
of
Canadians aged 18 or older were active in their leisure time and an additio=
nal
25 percent were moderately active. That is 50 percent.
Healthy eating=
—
in 2005, 42 percent of Canadians aged 18 and older reported that they consu=
med
fruit and vegetables five or more times a day. People should sit back and t=
hink
where they would stand in that and probably reflect on some of the V8 comme=
rcials.
Healthy body w=
eights
— in 2005, 47.4 percent of Canadians aged 18 and older had a body mass
index in the normal rage. I think for an awful lot of us, it has been a lot=
of
years since we’ve seen that normal range. We really have to look at
everything, though, and put it into perspective. Going back to my sentence =
in
An incentive t=
hat the
Ontario Ministry of Health had made was to outfit and fund several vans that
were set up to do fitness testing. They hired a number of graduate students
— master students in physical education or kinesiology — to go =
out
and do testing. They were interviewing one of these graduate students about=
how
they were doing this, what communities they were in. At one point toward the
end, the reporter put the microphone out and asked, “Well, can you te=
ll
us what you’re finding in all of these surveys of how healthy =
With a straigh=
t face,
she said, “Well, you know, we’re finding that some people are
pretty good and some people are pretty bad. Unfortunately, we’re find=
ing
that most people are only average.” At that point, the reporter almost
dropped the microphone; she got laughing so hard and I think the graduate s=
tudent
realized what she had said. But it’s true, most of us are only averag=
e.
We always struggle to bring that average up, but that’s really what
we’re all about and what we’re trying to do.
Now when we lo=
ok at
housing, it’s really a part of this. It really is a central hub of wh=
at
we’re doing. It’s a multi-dimensional concept, encompasses
characteristics of the house, the physical structure and design.
Some are very =
good,
some are bad, but in the north we have to look at that construction as a big
part of it, which is why we’ve made the decision to make every attemp=
t to
build nothing but SuperGreen construction and look at the overall building =
and
home and how it’s going to be run over the time period.
We’re lo=
oking at
social and psychological features in the neighbourhood, the physical and so=
cial
characteristics and local services that are available. It’s what city
planning is all about; it’s what regional planning is all about;
it’s what land use planning is all about.
The central in=
fluence
of housing on people’s lives raises the possibility that housing could
act as a pathway through which social and economic determinants of health
influence population health. The purpose of this whole concept is to really
look at what’s known about the relationship between housing and healt=
h,
and that has to be a huge part of our strategy.
So with those =
comments
of looking at housing as a big part of this matrix, I look forward to what
other members have to say and will close on that point.
Mr. Fairclough: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I would also like to respond briefly to =
this
motion as put out by the Member for
Governments ov=
er the
last so many years have tried and attempted to bring communities together to
look at promoting healthy living styles, and what we found is that we’=
;re
falling behind and other people are taking the lead. Like the previous spea=
ker
mentioned, communities are coming forward and bringing their community memb=
ers
together and having a wellness week or a wellness day, and promoting health=
ier
families within the community.
I have gone to=
the
wellness week in Mayo. They are taking a step forward to bring some healthi=
ness
back into the community. They looked at community healing, which I
haven’t heard the government side talk too much about. Most recently,
there was a wellness fair in the community of Carmacks, and that was put on=
by
the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation, as the one in Mayo was put on by t=
he
Na Cho Nyäk Dun. They bring together their social services department =
and
all those who are involved and all their different departments, and look at
ways of making improvements in the community.
What we’=
re
asking is that all members in this House approve and vote in favour of this
motion to develop a strategy that would promote healthy living habits. It s=
ays,
“for all Yukoners” too, by the way. This is a bit interesting t=
oo,
when we talked about how we can make improvements to, for example, housing =
or
drinking water in homes.
This governmen=
t, the
Yukon Party government, ignored a lot of that in the communities. Take for
example the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation. The Premier says they̵=
7;re
there for the greater public, but ignored that First Nation. They had to go=
outside
of the
One of the gue=
st
speakers that was up in the community of Mayo — also he has been in
Carmacks and Pelly Crossing in their wellness week or wellness fair —=
was
the famous Don Burnstick, a First Nation comedian. He always talks about how
laughter is good medicine and how it brings people together. He always talk=
s to
the youth. The communities like him and keep inviting him back into their
communities for functions such as this. The community of Carmacks recently =
had
a couple of days, which they call a wellness fair, and they had some support
from around the community and from
Some, of cours=
e, take
advantage of that, whether it is to quit smoking or lose weight or deal with
stress.
I thought that=
those
are really good moves on the part of the community to be able to do that.
They’ve had conferences on FASD in that community, where government
employees were invited down to really learn exactly what this is all about,
including teachers and so on. To my surprise, there are a lot of people out
there that just did not know what this was all about, particularly when it
comes to teaching young children that understanding the issue better makes =
it
that much easier to be able to understand and change the ways in which they
deal with these children.
Some of the go=
vernment
employees have talked over the years about wanting to be healthier in the
workplace to improve the output of their work. Many have talked about how g=
overnment
buildings and offices should have exercise equipment and showers so the
employees can use it, rather than having to go somewhere.
Other governme=
nts,
such as First Nations, have bought their employees seasonal passes to the
Canada Games Centre, for example, to use the facilities there. Many of them=
are
taking advantage of it and it is reflected in a higher output within the
community. Many of the First Nations have talked about wanting to get out m=
ore.
They feel like their lifestyle has changed so much that they are running
governments like we are here; they have offices and seem to be stuck in the=
ir
offices quite often and have taken on the challenge of ensuring that their
employees have access to language lessons, do outdoor activities and even at
times bring meetings outside of the building into the sunshine or outdoors.=
Some
of them go on fishing trips just to bring the staff together to say that th=
ey
are all fighting for the same cause.
Some people ha=
ve
tremendous stress in their jobs and need something like this — someth=
ing
different from their workplace — and this is being done. So I’m
hoping that when government goes away and we approve this motion to develop
this wellness strategy to promote healthy living habits, that it does invol=
ve
the community that has been working on things to help them put this strategy
together and perhaps look at how they can deal with some of these communiti=
es
individually.
I heard some o=
f the
members talk about how recreation is a good thing for communities and how
communities need recreation centres. There are a couple I have in mind that=
could
probably benefit a lot from them, and one is the community of Old Crow. The
community of Carmacks, for example, has only gone through phase 1 of their
recreation centre. Those communities could definitely use improvements.
Another is tha=
t when
the community of Pelly Crossing and Selkirk First Nation finished their are=
na,
what they put together as a package was to bring down coaching into their
community, and that made a huge difference, whether it was coaching of hock=
ey
or figure skating, broomball — any of that would allow the members to=
use
their facilities more. That helped tremendously.
It has been ta=
lked
about a lot and I think that is one area that could be looked at a lot more
closely. The other is having government support the communities more when it
comes to one thing all our young people like to do: go swimming in the local
swimming pools. Well, some of these communities don’t have these
facilities opened up early enough. There’s a cost to it and often it =
is
the municipalities that foot the bill for these facilities and that perhaps
needs to be addressed too.
The other that=
a lot
of the local people talk about is of course the eating habits of our popula=
tion
now and this motion, this strategy that will be put together, is about heal=
thy
living habits. One of them is good eating habits and I know we have it in t=
he
schools right now and some of the young kids really know what’s healt=
hy
and what’s not.
Sometimes it=
8217;s
the parents who just don’t follow that healthy habit and perhaps need
some assistance in that. One of them is just trying to live off the land.
That’s probably one of the healthiest things we could do, knowing
what’s out there to feed ourselves. A lot of local people have gone a=
way
from that, and we find a lot of people are migrating to the bigger centres,
like
This, again, i=
s all
about putting together a strategy that addresses these healthy living habit=
s. I
know one that really knocked down the physical activity in the communities =
was
the introduction of the television. I remember that, because the community =
of
Carmacks went dead after television came to the community because everybody=
was
stuck in front of the TV screen.
Of course, rig=
ht now,
with the recreation centres, they usually have built-in fitness centers that
the community members can use. Some of them are used a lot. I think there n=
eeds
to be a lot more material given out to the general public about what could =
be
done.
I heard member=
s talk
about having trails developed and, of course, walking is pretty healthy and
some places have it better than others and some communities develop walking
trails, hiking and skiing trails. I think a lot more of that could be done =
and
a lot longer trails developed. In and around Whitehorse
I for one woul=
d like
to see, when government develops this strategy, to put something like that =
to
ensure that all communities have this. I did go on a trail in the community=
of
Carmacks with a few other people. This trail was overgrown and it was throu=
gh
the
I was surprise=
d that
something was actually being done about it, because there were attempts to
apply for dollars through government and none of that has been proved, and =
now
we see the community is moving in that direction.
We’ve se=
en how
we’ve gotten rid of a lot of this junk food in schools and how the
communities are trying to ensure that some of the more unfortunate people h=
ave
something to eat by having meals available for them. I think there has been=
a
lot of recognition and perhaps some improvements, but I think more could be
done for aboriginal people. Usually diabetes is the pretty big issue with t=
hem
and it affects a lot of the aboriginal people. It’s all about how
dramatically their eating habits have changed over the years.
I think that a=
lot of
information can be gathered together, along with the communities, along with
the First Nations, to show exactly what’s out there. For example, sma=
ll
things like mapping out where certain berries are, the seasons — and
it’s the same with the fish, and getting people out there, more active
— either ice fishing or fishing off the shore, or going out to the la=
kes
at a certain time of year — and the same with the berries. I know the
First Nations are moving toward this. I think governments — this gove=
rnment
— could learn a lot from what they have been doing to try to bring
wellness back into the community. Like other speakers have said before, it
starts with the individual — if we’re talking about healing =
212;
into the family, and from the family into the community. That’s where
this education process needs to go.
I do thank the=
Member
for
I =
want to
know how, perhaps, government thinks it would be implemented and how much
it’s geared toward sma=
ller
communities that just don’t have the facilities like the City of
I know my time=
is
running out here, so we on this side of the House will be supporting this
motion, and I thank the Member for
Hon. Mr. Lang: Again, I’d like to thank the =
Member
for
I’d like to thank the departm=
ent
for the work they did. The presentation they gave us six months ago was very
thorough on how we as a society could work with the less fortunate to get t=
hem
involved in not only the financial end of the territory, but also into the
workforce and other aspects that have to be addressed. Mr. Speaker, as we s=
peak
about this and look at this, this isn’t about resources as much as it=
is
about how we include individuals in everyday life in the territory. This
includes all Yukoners, Mr. Speaker. It includes our smaller communities, it
includes the bigger centres, and certainly it is an issue that has been fro=
nt
and centre for our government for many, many years.
Of course, my =
position
as Minister of Community Services also gives me the added responsibility to=
be
in charge or to oversee sports and recreation. I fully understand the relat=
ionship
of active living for healthy living.
That part of t=
he
Department of Community Services works actively on every level to make sure
that we understand our mandate, which is recreation in the territory and al=
so
promoting a healthy lifestyle, whether it’s our seniors, our youth, a=
nd
the many things that we sponsor as Yukoners in the territory and outside the
territory — we move our
athletes to the Arctic Winter Games; we move our Dene and First Nation
activities to the Olympic Games in Vancouver — which is a very active=
and
positive thing for our society to do.
Many Yukoners =
are very
active indeed. The very nature of our history and geography contributes to a
very active lifestyle. This can be seen every day on our ski trails, hiking
trails and walking trails, at our excellent community recreational centres =
and
through youth and adult involvement in our multiple sports and recreation c=
lubs
throughout the territory.
I remind the H=
ouse on
the investment this government has made over the last seven years to enhance
the availability of recreational facilities, not only in Whitehorse, but in
Marsh Lake and, of course, throughout the territory. Mayo — I talked
about the infrastructure the other day for that community.
I would even g=
o so far
as to say that active living is part of our Yukon culture from, of course, =
our
First Nations — traditional activities, Arctic sports and Dene games.=
If
you had the opportunity to see the Arctic sports and Dene games and the
presentations that Yukon did before and at the Olympic Games, you only have=
to
see that to realize that there is a real groundswell of participation in our
Arctic sports and Dene games. I’d like to compliment all the organize=
rs
and all the athletes themselves who went and represented us so well during =
the
Vancouver Olympics.
Of course we h=
ave the
youth and adult participation in swimming. We only have to listen to the ra=
dio
on a daily basis and keep updated on our swimming — our individuals w=
ho
are going out — our youth and the people who are competing on a
world-class level that come from our community here in
Then, of cours=
e,
there’s softball. Softball is a big part of our society and our sport=
s in
the summer. Curling — we only have to see again yesterday our newspap=
er
welcoming our curling team back into the territory — a gold winner. So
these kinds of individuals are happening here in the territory. We can look=
at
Arctic Winter Games, snowshoeing, dogsledding and other organized sports.=
span>
Yukoners do a =
pretty
job, when you look at the number of Yukoners — 35,000 individuals =
212;
that we represent ourselves fairly well on the world stage. You only have to
compliment the individuals who have gone from the These individu=
als have
gone out, not only to represent us as a territory, but to represent the cou=
ntry
as excellent in their chosen sports. So, again, a lot of the facilities
we’ve built — Yukoners have built in the territory — have=
complemented,
of course, the healthy lifestyle that we see in our youth today. I was honoured=
to go
to the cross-country ski competitions that We wouldn̵=
7;t have
the swimmers that we have today out competing in the many levels of competi=
tion
if we didn’t have the In saying that=
, it
contributes to a healthier Of course, not=
all
Yukoners are physically active and a lack of physical activity can lead to
obesity, diabetes and other chronic health conditions and that, again, is
another issue. That’s a=
health
issue that comes along with lifestyle and this can severely impair and shor=
ten
lives. In other words, it can put a cost, a burden on our health care and a=
lso
it’s not a positive thing for individuals. These conditions are also =
very
costly to the As we move thr=
ough
this program or this seminar or this workshop we’re going to be doing
over the next two or three days, I think out of that will come a lot of
positive recommendations and probably realistic recommendations that we as a
government and we as a society can implement. I know that we’ve had
discussions in the House here extensively about many avenues of lifestyle. =
Now
whether it’s healthy eating, whether it’s a standard of housing
that is a question or is it general lifestyle, there are also substance abu=
se
issues that we in the House over the last seven years have addressed in a v=
ery
positive way to get that kind of a lifestyle behind people. As we get into=
our
smaller communities — the member was talking about Mayo and other sma=
ller
communities — that we don’t forget about their needs. Of course,
their needs are parallel to what So, this gover=
nment
has worked with our communities, whether it’s health centres, hospita=
ls,
recreational facilities — investments on the ground. We have been very
active with our communities to make sure that they have a standard of recre=
ational
facility that supports the community itself. Again, those k=
inds of
things are investment issues. As I said before, it’s very important f=
or
us to remember that a lot of the conversation we’re going to have on =
this
motion and at this workshop involve resources. But it also involves lifesty=
le and
direction — if we could move toward that direction, those resources a=
nd
lifestyle and also personal acceptance of responsibility of lifestyle on the
individual. I think that i=
s going
to be part and parcel, hopefully, of these discussions. As a community, in
sports and recreation, we have accomplished — okay, if I were to revi=
ew
some of the work that sports and recreation has accomplished that we’=
ve
included in the 2009-10 — increasing operating grants to 33 Yukon spo=
rts
and recreation groups to improve sports and physical activity in the Yukon.=
So
this government, in 2009-10, increased the grants to 33 That is import=
ant, Mr.
Speaker, because as we all know, as we move through, things get more and mo=
re
costly to manage and to produce the product that has to be produced and so =
we
have increased that funding through that budget. This is a nati=
onal
program, Mr. Speaker. All our jurisdictions have an issue with this. As I m=
eet
with my fellow ministers wherever we are in Now there is g=
oing to
be a review and an update of the The branch fin=
alized and
transferred the funds to the $1 million 2007 Canadian Games aboriginal sport
legacy fund. These are resources put together — this began the first =
year
of the shared funding with Sports and Rec=
reation
also participates in three leadership-building initiatives: Canadian
Association for Advancement of Women and Sport physical activity and sports
leadership workshop, Yukon Aging Well Expo, and the 2009 Sports and Recreat=
ion
Leadership Summit. Again, that’s more projects out there to work with=
our
Yukoners to get a better understanding, not only from a government point of
view, but a leadership point of view — that the commitment we make as
individuals has impacts on our lifestyle, and to certainly encourage our yo=
uth,
and also, whatever stage of life individuals are in, that a healthy lifesty=
le
is the right choice. I also want to=
mention
that this government has been working with other Canadian jurisdictions to
establish specific physical activity targets for children and youth. To rea=
ch
these targets, ministers responsible for sports, physical activity and
recreation approved a national action plan that consists of three major dir=
ections:
cross-sectoral collaboration, social marketing, and a focus on physical
activity during the after-school time period. This again was driven by the
federal government, but it’s something in our jurisdiction that
you’ll see happening, I guess, in a way that is concerning to somebody
like myself who spent his life here in the territory — but also that =
we
as parents and as Yukoners encourage our youth to become more involved. How=
do
we do that when a big part of our population is individuals who, when they
leave school, have a period of time when they’re inactive or, even wo=
rse,
they go home and sit in front of a computer. How do we encourage that to
change? I tend to look at the government, but I think we as a society have =
to
look at that and say, “How do we encourage our kids and individuals to
have a balance between an active lifestyle and a computer-age lifestyle?=
221;
There has to be a balance between the two of them. On social mark=
eting, With regard to
physical activity during the after-school time period, this will become a m=
ajor
initiative in the upcoming 2010-11 healthy living bilateral agreement with =
Again, Mr. Spe=
aker, I
fully support this motion and I feel the development of a wellness strategy=
to
promote healthy living habits for all Yukoners must also include a strategy=
to
promote — which is one of the more important things — active
living. So active living is part and parcel of the whole promotion that com=
es
along with healthy living — a balanced lifestyle for all Yukoners. Again, to the =
Member
for Mr. McRobb: It’s a pleasure to rise and speak =
in favour
of this motion today as put on the floor by my colleagues earlier. We will =
be
supporting this motion. However, that said, Mr. Speaker, I can’t help=
but
draw the conclusion that everything put on the record this afternoon all so=
unds
fine and dandy, but is this Yukon Party government really practising what it
preaches with respect to wellness for Yukoners? I think that’s what
I’m going to explore within the limited time I have available. First of all,
let’s look at what is a wellness strategy, what should a wellness
strategy include and who should be included in the wellness strategy? Well,
first of all, a wellness strategy should promote healthy living across the
territory and this should involve all Yukoners in all What should it
include? Well, I think to properly answer that question, we have to look at
some of the challenges we currently face in today’s I think ensuri=
ng that
vital community infrastructure is safe, practical and healthy is of primary
concern whenever developing a wellness strategy. Let’s just examine t=
hat
for a minute. I’m going to speak to that in reference to the communit=
ies
I know best, which are located in the Kluane region. Let’s start with=
Well, whatR=
17;s the
condition of the building? Not very good, Mr. Speaker. This Yukon Party
government has been aware for quite some time now that the roof is structur=
ally
unsound and is in danger of caving in. Yet nothing is in this budget —
this $1 billion budget — to correct this problem. Is that a way to pr=
omote
wellness in this community by ignoring the safety of citizens in a primary
community building? I don’t think so, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to
hear someone on the government side speak to that issue. Another govern=
ment
building in Beaver Creek is the community library. This too is a gathering
place for people in the community, albeit on a smaller scale. Sometimes the
schoolchildren visit the library as part of a class. What’s the condi=
tion
of the Beaver Creek library? Again, the Yukon Party government is aware that
there is a severe mould problem in that building. Is there anything in this
budget to deal with that problem? The answer again unfortunately is no. Let’s lo=
ok at
the fire hall building in Beaver Creek. This is a building that should be
condemned. It is also impractical to provide the services expected today of=
our
front-line emergency workers. It’s inadequate in terms of storage for=
emergency
vehicles and the Yukon Party government has been aware for years now of the
need to replace this building. Is there anything in this billion-dollar bud=
get
for this building, or last year’s billion-dollar budget? Again, the
answer is no, Mr. Speaker. Now, there are=
other
examples within this community, but I think these three examples here are m=
ore
than adequate to drive home the point that the government is simply not pra=
ctising
what it preaches, in terms of wellness in our rural communities. Let’s lo=
ok at
Burwash Landing. The First Nation and community citizens have been requesti=
ng a
new school for several years now. The Yukon Party government has denied that
request. The Yukon Party government is opposed to a new school in Burwash
Landing in principle. I don’t expect the Yukon Party government to ev=
er
build a new school in Burwash Landing. For that to happen, a change in
government would first need to occur. Let’s lo=
ok at I
hope I’ve connected the dots for the government. It’s nice of t=
he
members to stand up and fill the airwaves full of platitudes about the nice
things that are being done, and I’m sorry to have to pour some rain on
their parade, but this is the reality I bring here as a rural member, Mr.
Speaker, and I feel compelled to point out these shortcomings at this
opportunity. Now, if you ju=
st take
the concerns I’ve identified so far and dealt with them in terms of
budget, Mr. Speaker, I would fully expect each one of these buildings could
have been paid for with change left over simply by the unaccounted for $5 m=
illion
the Yukon Party government has spent in Dawson City that has gone missing. =
This
is the $5 million we’ve been asking for about a week now, that today =
the
newly appointed Cabinet commissioner could not simply identify what happene=
d to
it. Well, I’=
m saying
that all these projects, from the roof in the community hall, to the library
and fire hall, new school in Burwash Landing and some more land availabilit=
y in
Destruction Bay, all of those could have been dealt with had the Yukon Party
government found that missing $5 million and spent it in these communities =
to
promote the wellness of people on the north Alaska Highway. Let’s mo=
ve down
the road to Haines Junction. Now, there was a positive example constructed =
in
recent years. It was the Haines Junction seniors facility — I believe=
the
proper name has morphed into something else now, something about affordable
housing, whatever. Well, who paid for that project? The answer, Mr. Speaker=
, is
the former Paul Martin federal government. That’s who paid for that
project. Some of us remember. It is a good thing some of us do have that
corporate memory because, without it, one would have been led to believe it=
was
the Yukon Party government that paid for that project; but that is far from
reality. What about the=
jobs
being displaced by the expiring Shakwak The purpose of=
the
motion I referred to earlier that occurred some dozen years ago talked about
other options that could be done within the region to continue those jobs, =
but
nothing has been done. Is employment part of wellness? Well, I would say un=
deniably
yes to that question, and if anyone feels otherwise, you have 20 minutes to
explain it this afternoon. Let’s mo=
ve even
further down the highway toward Members can ta=
lk about
wellness all afternoon and fill Han=
sard
with accolades and platitudes and pat themselves on the back for all the go=
od work
they’re doing. But when the rubber hits the road in communities like
Mendenhall, Haines Junction, Now, let’=
;s move
from the Kluane riding to the Now, for
members’ information — because we deal with acronyms in here all
too frequently — the CHIP is the abbreviated version of the community
health improvement project, which was formerly the coronary health improvem=
ent
plan. Two of the constituents of the Member for Southern Lakes, I believe
— Butch and Laurie Johnson — were instrumental in bringing that
program to Yukoners. Those two individuals should be really held up as peop=
le
who have done a lot to improve the wellness of people in our territory. How did this Y=
ukon
Party government treat them? Well, the Yukon Party said no to providing fun=
ds
to continue the CHIP program. Mr. Speaker, I personally know people who have
changed their lifestyles as a result of taking that program and in terms of
healthy living, there has been a tremendous improvement. This program a=
lso
integrates well with the school curriculum in terms of combating childhood
obesity and preventing future diabetes, which also has its beginnings in the
eating habits of our school-aged children. I see, Mr. Spe=
aker,
that my time has run out and I look forward to listening to what other memb=
ers
have to say. Mr. Elias: Mr. Speaker, I would also like to engage in the
discussion today about the motion put on the floor of the House from the Me=
mber
for The Member for=
Kluane
just raised a couple of important issues with regard to the reality of
situations that his constituents face. I would just like to go over some of=
the
realities that many of my constituents face in terms of working toward heal=
thy
living and wellness in our community of Old Crow. One example that has come=
up
numerous times over my years of being MLA for Vuntut Gwitchin was the
scheduling of opportunities for my constituents to go see an optometrist or=
to
go see a dentist — to receive those health services. This is not an
isolated incident. If, let’s say, the dentist or optometrist contract=
ed
to go to Old Crow happens to cancel in December, and the person who was hop=
ing
to receive those services still has to get services, so they have to come to
Whitehorse. They have to plan. Let’s say it’s a single mother w=
ho
has to put wood in the stove every day, because it’s minus 50 degrees
Celsius outside. The single mother has to worry about who’s going to
watch her kids. A single mother is going to have to worry about who is goin=
g to
make sure her house keeps warm, so it doesn’t freeze up and cause
thousands of dollars of damage to her water and sewer systems. Maybe she ha=
s to
worry about who is going to look after the pets, and the list goes on and on
and on. So when we tal=
k about
healthy living and wellness in the community, the delivery of programs and
services to an isolated, remote community, like my community of Old Crow, is
far from being equal. And I’ll use the issue of education as it relat=
es
to the motion put forward on the floor of the House today. In terms of a =
wellness
strategy, it’s well known that, as soon as students in the A jug of milk =
in the
store in Old Crow was $10 when I last checked — around $10. Last fall=
in
this House we passed the motion about how important the food mail program i=
s to
a healthy lifestyle, healthy living, to receive nutritious and healthy food=
s in
Old Crow, how important that is. The federal government has embarked on
reviewing that program and has yet to explain the details of what the new
program is going to look like, but I do have an excerpt from page 132 of the
federal budget book, chapter 3.4, that was released last month. I’d j=
ust
like to quote from the budget and it’s about improving access to heal=
thy
food for northerners. This is what i=
t says
in the federal budget, “Consumption of nutr=
itious
food is a key component of a healthy lifestyle. In order to provide norther=
ners
living in isolated communities with greater access to affordable healthy fo=
od,
the government has operated the Food Mail Program since the late 1960s.Canada. So, again, it’s another active
partnership. How do we jump-start this mentality to get people out and being
more active?
“Over th=
e past
year, the government has consulted northerners in order to develop a more
modern, efficient and cost-effective program. Budget 2010 commits $45 milli=
on
over two years to fund this new program, including existing funding. This w=
ill
bring the annual budget of the program to $60 million. The program will
alleviate the cost of shipping healthy foods by air to isolated communities=
and
include activities to encourage nutritious eating. The program will focus o=
n supporting
a basket of healthy foods that will be based on
That’s w=
hat
I’m waiting for and what my constituents are waiting for: further
information. Because my recollection of the food program was that it already
cost $69 million to operate last year and the federal budget numbers
don’t seem to match well with the documents that I have. Furthermore,=
the
discussion paper that was released with regard to food mail and nutritious
foods being delivered to isolated communities, of which Old Crow is one, we=
re
unsatisfactory. Those options were unsatisfactory.
Hopefully, we =
can hear
from the federal minister soon with regard to this new idea on how to deliv=
er
the federal food mail program.
There are many
definitions about what healthy living actually is. I did some quick research
this morning about some definitions. Health
They define he=
althy
living this way: “At a population level, healthy living refers to the
practices of population groups that are consistent with supporting, improvi=
ng,
maintaining and/or enhancing health. As it applies to individuals, healthy
living is the practice of health-enhancing behaviours or, put simply, livin=
g in
healthy ways. It implies the physical, mental and spiritual capacity to make
healthy choices. The integrated pan-Canadian healthy living strategy focuse=
s on
healthy eating, physical activity and the relationship to healthy weights. =
In November of=
2008, I
put a motion on the floor of the House that many of my constituents conside=
red
important for a healthy community, and they were looking for partnerships to
help achieve these projects or initiatives or ideas or concepts so that we
could help achieve a healthier community of Old Crow. Some of them were
addressing the infrastructure deficit with regard to seniors and elders hom=
es
in Old Crow, addressing the need to replace the St. Luke’s Anglican
Church, upgrading the community’s drinking water well — which I
must say I do not see an allocation to the community water well in the 2010=
-11
budget this year, which is of concern.
Another concer=
n was
ensuring that community members of Old Crow have proper access to territori=
al
health services; providing a proper certified and safe school bus for the s=
afe
transportation of the students of Chief Zzeh Gittlit School; ensuring a
successful implementation of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium study in Old
Crow.
Going back a c=
ouple of
days to when the Member for Whitehorse Centre was talking about his experie=
nces
in Vancouver during his cancer treatment and about how the doctors asked:
“Why are there so many Yukoners coming down for cancer treatments?=
221;
And I’ve heard the same thing from doctors who come to Old Crow:
“Why are there so many internal cancer problems in such a small commu=
nity
over the last couple of decades?” The answers still need to be found.=
Obviously, wor=
king
toward a healthy community is the protection of the Porcupine caribou herd =
and
its calving grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. That’s al=
ways
a big concern, and it’s a given.
Another issue =
with
regard to a healthy community was expanding the community to multi-resident=
ial
subdivision lots under
If I could tal=
k about
the issue of diabetes, from which my community of Old Crow is not immune. W=
e do
have citizens and constituents who suffering from diabetes. Diabetes has be=
come
a disabling and deadly disease, with First Nations suffering at a rate thre=
e to
five times that of the general Canadian population. What is diabetes? Diabe=
tes
happens when your body does not make or use insulin in the right way. Insul=
in
is important for your body to turn sugar from food into energy. There are t=
hree
types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes happens when the body doesn’t make
insulin; type 2 diabetes happens when the body has trouble using the insuli=
n it
makes; and gestational diabetes is where the body can’t use the insul=
in
during pregnancy.
Aboriginal peo=
ple are
more likely to get type 2 diabetes, the most common kind, than other Canadi=
ans.
Younger aboriginal people are developing type 2 diabetes more than before.
Diabetes is of concern and the Canadian Diabetes Association has heard from
parents who have been told that their children can’t register at scho=
ol
because they have diabetes. Other parents have told the Canadian Diabetes
Association about their children being denied school trips or educational
programs because of their diabetes and still other parents have contacted t=
he
association to discuss how to convince their school staff that denying acce=
ss
to orange juice during class, or asking the child to test glucose levels
unsupervised in a washroom or closet, is inappropriate and potentially dang=
erous
to the health of the child.
There was actu=
ally a
law in
Today at the C=
anada
Games Centre there is a Living with Diabetes, a Wellness Program going on. =
It
starts today and it goes until . The sessions will run for Monday, Wedne=
sday
and Thursday from
Going back to =
my
riding and some of the comments from my constituents on what their thoughts=
are
with regard to a healthy community, many of my constituents consider our is=
olation
and the lack of an all-season road access as contributing to a healthy
community and it always has.
You know, a be=
tter
quality of life includes adequate housing that contributes to individual and
family health. One of the comments that I found interesting was healthy liv=
ing
also includes having the ability to empower our community members to contri=
bute
to a strong, healthy community; working toward a sustainable community with=
a
coming together and working to develop a vision for the future, to work out
what the community values are and what the long-term goals are — and =
our
community of Old Crow has done this work. They have developed a common visi=
on
for the future as it relates to a healthy community.
As far as the
development of a Yukon wellness strategy, I think it would be a good idea f=
or
this to have a community-based approach because, in our community of Old Cr=
ow
— I’ll just read it: “Our vision is one that reflects our
traditional values, sustainability principles and long-term goals as a comm=
unity,
as a self-governing First Nation, in the Yukon and Canada. Part of the visi=
on
is to create a sustainable community that provides a safe, supportive
environment in which to live and work consistent with the Vuntut Gwitchin l=
and
ethic. Our vision promotes a sustainable community within the context of th=
e Vuntut
Gwitchin land ethic. We want the same services and amenities as other
Some of the co=
mmunity
values that were discussed — I see I’m running out of time, so
I’ll just briefly go over some of them — is that we value the
empowerment of our people to contribute to a strong and healthy Vuntut Gwit=
chin
First Nation. We value all that is living and strive to create a balance in=
our
interactions with them. We value children and youth and are committed to a =
safe
and healthy environment within our traditional ways. We value our tradition=
al
knowledge, culture, spirituality and the oral teachings of our elders.
We value accou=
ntable
and transparent governance. It goes on and on and on. I’ve watched ma=
ny,
many of my constituents over the years participate and take the time out of
their busy lives to come and work toward a healthier community. So when we&=
#8217;re
talking about building a strategy for all Yukoners, I think there are examp=
les
out there — other communities around the Yukon that have already done
some of the initial work. I think that could be used to make this
With that, I t=
hank the
Member for
Thank you very=
much
for your time today, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
<=
/span>I,
too, would like to lend my support to the Member for
A lot has been=
said on
the floor of the Legislature today and my remarks will be somewhat brief. I
did, however, want to reflect on a couple of things that have been said her=
e.
Today’s
discussion is all about coming up with a strategy — a social inclusion
and poverty reduction strategy. It’s focused on what work has already
been done in not only the respective governments, but in our communities,
delivered by agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals alike. I th=
ink
that when you look over the last number of years, the last decade for examp=
le,
a lot has been accomplished. This discussion is all about putting our suppo=
rt
forward and behind an initiative that ought to be community driven. It has =
to
have the grassroots support of communities, individuals, governments and or=
ganizations,
because if it isn’t, it will certainly be all for naught. I think that
this really builds on the success of the work that has been done in the
Department of Justice, for example, on correctional reform, the substance a=
buse
action plan and the education reform initiative, which produced New Horizon=
s.
It builds upon the housing initiatives that are underway — well over =
$60
million that has contributed to seniors, elders housing, children’s
housing, housing for single parents and many other initiatives.
So I think it =
is
really important that this particular initiative is not just building on
something that is brand new, but on initiatives that have already been a
success and which have garnered the community’s support.
I think that t=
here is
a lot to be commended by the respective agencies and governments around the
territory. You know, I keep on referring to a child and the old adage saying
that it takes a village or community to raise a child. I truly believe that
that is the case, Mr. Speaker, because from the day a child is born —
from the day, I should say, a child is conceived to birth — to early =
lifelong
learning and so forth, that child is supported and must be supported by a w=
hole
host of individuals, entities and communities alike. We all have a role to =
play
in the health and well-being of community citizens, whether it is providing
services even from full-day kindergarten or through the Child Development
Centre, services through our new unit providing services for children with =
disabilities,
services providing housing for single-parent families or providing childcare
— that is, providing enhanced wages for childcare workers, capital
infrastructure subsidies for childcare, as well as a direct operating grant=
s.
It’s abo=
ut
looking at, also, the Individual Learning Centre. That’s another
initiative that our government was very successful in bringing forward to
fruition. There are countless examples, and I think a lot has already been =
said
here on the floor of the Legislature. But, unlike members opposite who have=
referred
to initiatives such as the Individual Learning Centre or the School of Visu=
al
Arts or perhaps the child and youth advocate as being bankrupt or examples =
of
reckless spending — I say that is very unfortunate.
I will, howeve=
r, thank
all members of the Legislature for supporting this motion that has been put
forward on the floor for debate and discussion. It is a very important one,=
and
I would just like to congratulate the officials in their respective departm=
ents
who have been working with the multitude of agencies around the territory, =
the
communities and First Nation governments.
This will be an
inclusive process, and it will entail a number of stakeholders. But, most
importantly, the objectives of this particular initiative, of course, are to
really emphasize the shared responsibility — to make the best efforts=
to
ensure that all Yukoners have the right to participate in the affairs of ou=
r community
and the health and well-being of our community.
I thank you ve=
ry much,
Mr. Speaker. I, too, would commend this motion for going forward.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> I’ve listened all afternoon with g=
reat
interest as to the different points of view that have been put forward on
wellness and specifically on the motion from the Member for
Really, the on=
e theme
that I’ve seen run through this is that everybody has a broad
interpretation of what really wellness is and what makes up wellness. For t=
his
afternoon, I think I’m going to probably dwell on those issues as to
really what wellness is and how we as individuals can improve our personal
wellness state of mind.
I guess the be=
st way
— and I know the Member for Porter Creek North discussed the definiti=
on
of wellness and I think that it’s interesting that more than ever bef=
ore,
we hear this word in the news, on billboards, in conversations and even at
work. It’s interesting that universally there is no real accepted
definition of the term “wellness.” There is, however, I guess, a
set of common characteristics that is seen in most thoughtful attempts as a
definition of wellness.
We generally s=
ee a
reference to state of mind, for example, which is quite vague, to say the
least. Also, frequently we will see a state of acceptance of satisfaction w=
ith
our present condition. The truth in fact, Mr. Speaker, is that wellness is a
very difficult word to define.
If I were to p=
ick one
individual who has tried to define it, Charles Corbin of the
“Wellness is an active proces=
s of
becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence.=
221;
I think it is important to look at that statement and see what it means. For
example, we talk about process. It could mean, for example, an improvement =
in
the way that things are possible. Okay? It is a step-by-step process that w=
e go
down. We also mentioned that we have to become aware of ourselves and that
could be how we learn, how we discover who we are, and how we seek more
information about who we are as a people and as an individual. I think
that’s important.
Choice makes up a significant porti=
on of
how well we are. If we choose
healthy lifestyles, for example, then our wellness will be improved over ti=
me,
so that’s important. Success is determined by each individual to be t=
heir
collection of life’s accomplishments. As we go through life and we see
that we have successes in each of these individual areas that we achieve, t=
hen
our internal clock and our internal well-being will be improved.
It was mention=
ed
earlier that there are a number of different facets that make up wellness. =
For
example, wellness is a multi-dimension state. The Member from Porter Creek
North mentioned eight, in my research I’ve come across 10, and I know=
the
Member from Vuntut Gwitchin mentioned three or four in his particular speec=
h.
Today I thought I would talk about some of the ones that I’ve come
across. The 10 that I have picked are social wellness, occupational wellnes=
s,
spiritual wellness, physical wellness, intellectual wellness, emotional
wellness, environmental wellness, financial wellness — which we
haven’t really talked about a lot — certainly mental wellness a=
nd
medical wellness. They all make up the capacity which we have to become a
well-rounded person.
It’s imp=
ortant
that we don’t look at one individual dimension as different from the
rest. I think it’s important to look at these as a wheel — that
they’re all interdependent upon each other, and to be fully, fully we=
ll,
we must have a moderation of all of them to achieve this goal.
The first one
I’d like to talk a bit about is social wellness. The social dimension=
of
wellness encourages contributing to one’s human and physical environm=
ent
to the common welfare of one’s community.
Social wellness
emphasizes the interdependence with others and with nature. It includes the
pursuit of harmony in one’s family as we travel down this path that
we’re going to choose to become better and more well. We will become =
more
aware of our importance in society, as well as the impact we will have on
nature and our community when we look at social wellness. We will take an
active part in improving our world by encouraging a healthy living environm=
ent
and initiating better communications with those around us. We will seek way=
s to
preserve the beauty and balance of nature along the path. Social wellness i=
s a
positive interaction with and enjoying being with other people.
It is having c=
omfort
and ease during work and leisure situations and communicating feelings with
others. As we proceed on the social wellness journey, we will discover many
things about ourselves and about the community we live in. Socially, it is
better to contribute to the common welfare of our community than to think of
ourselves. It is better to be in harmony with others and our environment th=
an
to live in conflict with them.
If we look aro=
und the
world, and we see the conflicts that exist, most of these — if we wer=
e to
look at our social well-being and how we interact with these individuals as
what’s important, we would probably have less and less strife. Certai=
nly,
we would have less stress in our life, and we would be more positive people=
.
I have a few s=
ocial
wellness tips and some facts. Socially isolated people are more susceptible=
to
illness and have a death ratio of two to three times higher than those who =
are
not socially isolated. So you can see that if we spend more time together
— I know the Member for Mount Lorne talked earlier about his 92-year-=
old
aunt and the fact that she’s just now moving out of her own home.
It’s good to see people like that who have social interdependencies a=
nd
have kept a social life together and have been able to maintain that social
network.
Approximately =
20
percent of North Americans feel lonely and isolated during their free time,=
so
a significant number who feel lonely and out of touch. I know earlier today
there was some talk about laughter. It’s really good medicine. ItR=
17;s
good for us and I think that when we get into the chuckles around the
Legislative Assembly here, that is sometimes being encouraged because it he=
lps
bring things and relieve stress and so it’s good to see.
Cholesterol le=
vels go
up when human companionship is lacking. I didn’t know that. Warm, clo=
se
friendship causes higher levels of — and I’m not sure about this
word — immunoglobulin — it’s an antibody that helps our
respiratory infections and believe it or not, improves cavities, which I
didn’t know. So it’s good to have friends, if only for our teet=
h.
One of the thi=
ngs that
I note about social wellness — and this is a little bit of a digressi=
on,
Mr. Speaker — when I had my business in the 1990s, I had a staff poli=
cy
— and I didn’t have many staff policies — but this partic=
ular
one was if you worked in our store I expected you to contribute back to the
community. In other words, I didn’t care what you did, but if you bel=
onged
to a church, belonged to a church group, go and participate actively. If you
wanted to join the Lions or the Rotary Club, or in those days the Jaycees or
the Kinettes, or whatever, it was important that you participated in a
community event or some kind of community function. While it wasn’t
mandatory, it was strongly encouraged.
I also encoura=
ged them
to come to me, as their employer, and say, “What are you doing within
this community that you have?” Because what happens is if you need the
support of this enterprise we will support you in your community endeavour.=
It
was sort of a quid pro quo type of relationship. People knew that my busine=
ss
was actively involved in the community and therefore they probably came and
supported the employees I worked with, who then gave back to the community.=
I think that
that’s the kind of social wellness that we’re talking about at =
this
level, and certainly at all levels I encourage people to participate in the=
irs.
If I may digre=
ss just
one more little bit, I would like to remind everybody that there is a spagh=
etti
dinner this Friday night at the CYO Hall in support of the Braeburn Christi=
an
summer camp, from
As we move on,=
we move
into the area — and I’m going to pick on emotional wellness at =
this
point. The emotional dimension of wellness emphasizes an awareness and
acceptance of one’s feelings. Emotional wellness includes the degree =
to
which one feels positive and enthusiastic about oneself in life. It includes
the capacity to manage one’s feelings and related behaviors, including
the realistic assessment of one’s limitations, development of autonomy
and ability to cope effectively with stress. The emotionally well person
maintains a satisfying relationship with others.
Emotions and s=
tress,
and things along those lines, are highly looked at these days. We have
psychiatrists and psychologists. We emphasize — and there just seems =
to
be so much more stress in our lives, that we perhaps don’t pay attent=
ion
to us being physically well in our lives. We need to take time for ourselves
and increase our ability to be emotionally mature in this area.
Again, among s=
ome of
the practical tips that I think we can talk about, emotional wellness is
striving to meet emotional needs constructively. It is maintaining good men=
tal
health, a positive attitude, high self-esteem and a strong self-image. It is
the ability to respond resiliently to emotional states and the flow of ever=
yday
life. It is dealing with a variety of situations realistically and learning
more about yourself and how things you do affect not only your feelings but=
the
feelings of others. It is taking responsibility for your own behaviour and
responding to the challenges and opportunities.
We should prac=
tice
optimism. I know people come to me at the beginning of the day and they ask=
me,
“How are you feeling today?” To me, it’s always the best =
day
of my life; at least I’m starting the day off that way. Spend time wi=
th
friends and family discussing important personal concerns and being support=
ive
with each other. Participate in self-esteem workshops, read self-help books,
learn time-management skills. Certainly if you manage your time better, you
will have less stress and your well-being will be far more functional. Here=
is
a good one for everybody: smile at least 20 minutes a day. Mr. Speaker, I t=
hink
if we could all do that we would certainly be well down the road to mental =
and
emotional wellness.
Mental wellnes=
s, which
sort of follows the emotional wellness — when searching the literatur=
e on
mental health, it’s difficult to find a straightforward definition of
mental wellness. Instead, we define it by its absence. Although many adults=
do
not fit snugly into descriptions of depression and anxiety, depressive symp=
toms
and behaviours that identify anxieties are seen in many people. Unfortunate=
ly,
even if these adults recognize their depressive symptoms and feelings of
anxiety and even if a low-cost treatment is available around the corner, the
stigma of mental illness inhibits many of them from seeking help.
So you see, Mr.
Speaker, this is one of the big ones. It’s very, very difficult to tr=
y to
cope and have very good wellness if your mental attitude is being — o=
r if
you’ve been subjected to some mental illness in your past, to try to
break out of that is difficult. Everywhere you turn, your records follow you
everywhere and it’s difficult. Mental illness can be affected by thin=
gs
like biological factors and social environmental factors. Certainly many
barriers may hamper detecting any type of depression or anxiety in adults a=
nd
may result in underreporting the seriousness of symptoms that these include=
.
Certainly some=
of
these symptoms are age related, for example. As we get older, we have a
tendency to forget a little more than we used to, and this can certainly ca=
use
depression in us and cause our mental states.
Illness, in ge=
neral
— cancer has been mentioned here. It’s significant — the
number of people in the
Attitudes of o=
thers
— signs of depression and/or anxiety may be dismissed because of ster=
eotypical
beliefs about people; for example, defining them as difficult, irritable,
forgetful, or complaining about their health and/or SAD, which are areas of
attitudes that some people put upon other people, and we should be careful
about that.
Denial —=
I grew
up in a time when “toughing things out” was the approved remedy.
Older adults may deny their depressed feelings as signs that they are weak =
or
lazy. I know that when I talk to my father, who is 93 years old, I try to g=
et
him involved in things like the Veterans Affairs, or some of the things that
would help make his life easier. He says, “I don’t want to do t=
hat.
I can’t do that. It’s too much paperwork,” or whatever.
Really, what has added to it, is he’s really saying, “Our
generation had to do it all ourselves. We had to stand on our own two
feet,” and there’s a reluctance to accept help.
Certainly drug=
and
alcohol and other health complaints and the significance of stigma — as long as the stigma of m=
ental
illness remains, the difficulty in identifying the disorders in adults and
providing them with proper care will remain a significant barrier to their
ability to reach mental health.
I know I’=
;m
running out of time, and I’m going to bring it down here at this poin=
t,
as we wind up the afternoon. I think that the other areas that I would have
liked to have touched on were particularly spiritual wellness and physical
wellness. I know that if we were all in better shape, we would do better
ourselves. So, with that, I would like to commend the Member for
Speaker: If the honourable member speaks he’=
;ll
close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Mr. Nordick: Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank =
all
members for their comments today. There were some questions related to other
jurisdictions of
Mr. Speaker, t=
his
government takes a holistic approach for Yukoners to be physically, mentally
and emotionally healthy. I expect the wellness strategy will be a broad
overarching framework within which we will include specific areas of focus.=
The
strategy to be developed under this broad umbrella will include children and
youth, healthy aging and social inclusion. The desired results are to impro=
ve
overall health outcomes and reduce health disparities. The overall idea of a
wellness strategy is to encourage Yukoners more in the health supporting
activities and choices that they have some control over in their lives. Tha=
nk
you, Mr. Speaker.
Speaker: Are you prepared for the question?
Some Hon. Members: =
b> Division.
Division
Speaker: Division has been called.
Bells
Speaker: Mr. Clerk, please poll the House.
Hon. Mr. Fentie: =
Agree.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Hart: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Kenyon: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Rouble: =
Agree.
Hon. Mr. Lang: Agree.
Hon. Ms. Horne: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Hon. Mr. Edzerza: Agree.
Mr. Nordick: Agree.
Mr. Mitchell:
Mr. McRobb: Agree.
Mr. Elias: Agree.
Mr. Fairclough: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Mr. Inverarity: <=
span
style=3D'mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> Agree.
Mr. Cardiff: Agree.
Mr. Cathers: Agree.
Clerk: Mr. Speaker, the results are 16 yea, nil=
nay.
Speaker: The yeas have it. I declare the motion c=
arried.
Motion No. 1008 agreed to
Motion No. 999
Clerk: Motion No. 999, standing in the name of =
Mr.
Nordick.
Speaker: It is moved by the Member for
THAT this Hous=
e urges
the Government of Yukon to be fiscally responsible and continue to lay a so=
lid
foundation for
(1) making str=
ategic
investments now in economic, education, health and social capital
infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, energy facilities, and
transportation and communication infrastructure;
(2) obtaining =
maximum
benefits from federal funds under
(3) proceeding=
with
capital projects identified in the multi-year capital plan, which provides
strategic direction for the next three years, in order to provide the neces=
sary
certainty that will allow the private sector to plan and grow their compani=
es;
and
(4) scheduling=
major
infrastructure projects in the
Mr. Nordick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me=
great
pleasure to speak to this motion today.
To start off,
I’m going to be speaking on how the investments that we’re maki=
ng
in the economy, education, health and social capital infrastructures —
projects like schools, hospitals, energy facilities and transportation and
communication infrastructure — help stimulate the private sector econ=
omy.
So here are a =
few of
our government’s initiatives to start off with in this regard. We
released our Climate Change Action =
Plan in
February 2009. The action plan has already implemented several actions and =
set
out 33 new or enhanced actions.
Our government=
is in
support of enhancing knowledge and understanding of climate change —
adapting to climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and leading <=
/span>
The Climate Change Action Plan is link=
ed to
the energy strategy for the
Mr. Speaker, o=
ur
government, chaired by the Premier, created two committees. The first was t=
he
Deputy Minister Oversight Committee on the Economy. Its mandate is to monit=
or
and assess economic trends, identify and analyze
Mr. Speaker, t=
he
second committee was the Deputy Minister Committee on Major Capital Project=
s,
which provided advice on the implementation of our government’s capit=
al investment
plan for the
We are committ=
ed to a
three-year plan of annual core expenditures related to the information
technology initiative of $6.5 million, capital building maintenance project=
s of
$12 million and $15 million for land development. This plan also includes a
minimum of $40 million for highways and airports, with the flexibility to
adjust priorities, respond to emerging priorities and other commitments.
Another of our=
key
election platform commitments was to continue to utilize government budgets=
and
policies to stimulate the private sector economy and promote the developmen=
t of
balanced budgets for the future. Capital spending in
The 2010-11 bu=
dget is
providing $10.3 million for the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre with a new publ=
ic
library — a library that will be the centrepiece in the development of
the
This budget has
allocated over $40 million for a variety of work, including upgrades,
reconstruction, resurfacing and erosion control on the Robert Campbell High=
way,
north Alaska Highway, Dempster Highway, Atlin Road, Annie Lake Road, Fish L=
ake
Road and the Jackson Lake Road, including the Shakwak project. We have a to=
tal
of $10 million this year for the Shakwak project.
Mr. Speaker, t=
his
budget has committed $9.66 million for bridge work, including repainting,
rehabilitation and replacements. People who travel the
Our government=
knows
the importance of maintaining the safety of Yukon
Our government=
has
committed monies in this budget for land and lot development. We have commi=
tted
$15.1 million for land development in
In this regard=
, the
Yukon Placer Secretariat is working with Tr’ondëk
Hwëch’in government in another three-year $350,000 northern stra=
tegy
program to increase the ability of individual First Nation governments to
participate in the fish habitat management system for the Yukon placer mine.
There is $2.184 million over two years to build a research and rehabilitati=
on
centre and barn at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. The Arctic research
infrastructure fund is providing $1.052 million for the expansion of
As well, the n=
orthern
strategy is funding a spruce beetle impact mitigation project in the
There is $844,=
000 for
the Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Centre in this budget. Our government has
committed to ensuring Yukoners have safe, sustainable drinking water, and o=
ur
government follows national standards for drinking water and waste-water
treatment to minimize the risk to health and to the environment. Federal,
territorial, municipal, and First Nation governments are working together to
build or upgrade water treatment systems in many
Our government=
has
budgeted $1.133 million under the municipal rural infrastructure fund to
improve the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation’s water supply.
There is $1.45=
million
to complete upgrades to the surface water treatment system in Carcross in o=
rder
to meet newly revised guidelines for Canadian drinking water quality. There=
is
$3.41 million for arsenic treatment upgrades to meet the new guidelines for=
the
$1.1 million i=
s to
treat
Mr. Speaker, o=
ur
government is working with
Speaker: Order please. The time being
Debate on Motion No. 999 accordingly adjo=
urned
The House adjourned at
=
=
=
The followi=
ng
document was filed :
10-1-141
Yukon Nutrition
Framework (dated March 2010) (Hart)
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