David Krutko

Minister of Health and Social Services.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask a direct question to the Minister. I’d like to ask the Minister if you even have the capacity to do this job or should we find someone else to do it.

The community of Tsiigehtchic want a full-time nurse in that community, just like any other community of similar size in the Northwest Territories. That’s all we’re asking for. To continue to stand here and say, well, we’re providing services, but they might come in once a month or twice a month is not service. For me that’s a referral system that this government is turning into. I’d like to ask the Minister what efforts are being made to get a full-time nurse in Tsiigehtchic.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Neudorf.

Well, the Minister hit it right on the head; that is the problem with your service system. The service system you have for small communities is a referral system; it’s not a service system. I’d like to ask the Minister, since you’re the one that raised it, what are you doing to provide service to all the communities of the Northwest Territories so we have services that are real services, not referral services where you find somebody to come in and check you out, they find out your sick and medevac you out?

I’d like to ask the Minister if you are going to do anything to improve the services in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Health and Social Services regarding the written request that I asked for information on the cost of physicians and registered nurse visits to Tsiigehtchic. I noted in the response, the Minister stated that there were eight physician visits to Tsiigehtchic between 2008 and September 2009. She also made reference to nurses-in-charge have made 20 visits to Tsiigehtchic between October. All together, between the two positions, it’s 28 days they visited Tsiigehtchic, which is less than a month.

I have been asking this Minister for going on...

Ms. Magrum, go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a question to the Minister with regard to the whole mandate of the development corporation and the whole establishment of facilities such as the Fort McPherson Canvas Shop, the fur shop in Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, now we got Fur Clouds. We have all these different ventures throughout the Northwest Territories, but the whole initiative of the government back then was to generate employment in communities where we have high pockets of unemployment. I think especially with the recession that we’re in, that’s something we should be seriously considering looking at...

Does committee agree the Minister brings in his witnesses?

Mr. Yakeleya, could you point out what item you’re talking about on what page?