SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Sandy Lee told the legislative assembly this week she is committed to finding money to keep respite care active in Yellowknife.

Families who use the program, special needs students from St. Patrick High School and respite care workers filled the viewing gallery Wednesday for a day largely dedicated to their cause.

MLAs presented a petition with more than 1,800 signatures calling for the $250,000 program, which is on target to provide 6,370 hours of respite care to 29 families during the 2010-11 fiscal year, to be saved.

A motion, also calling on the territorial government to provide permanent funding for respite care was carried, despite six cabinet ministers abstaining (Municipal Affairs Minister Rob McLeod was absent).

"I fought for and got respite care as a (regular MLA). As a minister I worked to expand the program outside of Yellowknife," said the health minister. "I'd like to continue to support the families who need the respite care program. It is the intention of the government to expand."

But with labour, drug and equipment costs growing, the territory's health authorities are all fighting to control costs. Lee didn't say where the money would come from or whether other services would need to be cut to make it available.

The Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority told the Yellowknife Association for Community Living (YACL) recently it will cease funding the program as of March 31.

The program has been used as a template for other respite care pilot programs in communities around the territory. While YACL funding came from the federal Territorial Health System Sustainability Fund, the territorial pilot projects got their money from the GNWT.

Funding to YACL is expiring with the federal program at the end of March and while the federal fund has been renewed under a different name, its money is being redirected to core health services - nurses, midwives and doctors.

Despite pressure from Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay, Lee refused to say whose decision it was to cut the program. She did, however, refer to the letter from the health authority informing YACL its funding would be cut, saying, "There was a communication that caused heartache to families. I don't think that was necessary, but it has happened."

But Pamela Weeks-Beaton doesn't care who cut the funding and she's not overly concerned who pays for respite care, the widowed mother of four wants a few hours a week of care for her autistic son.

"I feel good," said Weeks-Beaton. "We never doubted Sandy Lee, she's proven time and again her commitment to respite care. I think she'll find the money. There's a lot of programs and I wouldn't want to be making her decisions."

While Lee did commit to continued respite care services in Yellowknife and outlying communities, she said it would be managed as a whole rather than as isolated pilot projects.

"The department will take this opportunity to work with YACL and the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority to develop an exit strategy from a Yellowknife-specific program," said Lee. "Furthermore, the department will develop a proposal and implementation plan for a territorial-wide respite service program."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.