Glen Abernethy

We did obtain some dollars from the federal government, focused on helping us get a message out about the use of cannabis and encouraging people to use responsibly and to understand the health ramifications of using it. This money we are also going to be using to do more of a polysubstance approach, trying to get messages out there both online and at a community level, using different sources and technology to get this information out. So, yes, Mr. Speaker, this is something we are aware of. This is something we are trying to do. We are trying to be creative. We are trying to tailor the...

Just to be clear, we have utilized this tool in the Northwest Territories, and we did make it available, and we did provide resources so that people could use it. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of uptake, and I think that's important to remember. Although it has been available, there was not a lot of uptake. With respect to the tools that have been developed around alcohol, in the new wellness plan, the draft wellness plan, which I just want to be clear is still only draft format, we are waiting for feedback from committee on how we can make it stronger, we are creating an...

We are not in this one alone. We work with Aurora College, who runs a really fantastic Nursing Program here in the Northwest Territories. We are also working with Aurora College, who is delivering, on our behalf, what is referred to as, I am going to get the title wrong, but it is basically a rural and remote recruitment program or a training program for nurses, to help those nurses who live here develop the advanced practice skills that they need, things like diagnoses, assessments, suturing, setting bones, and those types of things, so that they can actually do the work of the community...

I am only going to talk about community health nursing, because I believe that that is the focus that the Member has. When it comes to filling community health nurse positions, we are trying to fill all of the positions all of the time. When we know that there is going to be a short-term vacancy between hiring, or for a holiday leave, or one of those things, we try to find locums to go. We have a pool of locums who have identified that they are willing and are available to us, so we can bring those people in.

We don't prioritize one community or one region over the other. We want all of these...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our vision for Health and Social Services in the Northwest Territories is one of Best Health, Best Care, For a Better Future. Realizing this vision requires meaningful change at all levels; change within our systems, change within ourselves as individuals working in those systems, and change in the ways that we do our work together. Today I want to provide Members with more detail about the work that we are doing within the system to improve access and quality of care for all residents of the Northwest Territories.

We have made significant changes to the structure of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would certainly like to know who told the Member that. I have always been very consistent. I have never said that we are not adding new positions; I have always said that we are not adding new programs. When I have been asked in other situations, I have said that there will definitely be some growth in positions, but we did not add any new programs.

The facility is quite a bit larger than it used to be. We have made it more effective, more efficient, but there are additional complications as a result of the additional floors and the additional space between. We need to...

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Premier, I wish to table the following document entitled "Self-Government Agreement-in-Principle for Sahtu Dene and Metis of Norman Wells." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am not going to talk about what the department is doing. I think that the Member is more referring, I believe, to the what the authority itself is doing. The NWT Health and Social Services Authority has launched an internal website that is available to all staff within the authority. The website itself focuses on many areas, including highlighting our own employees and the incredible work that some of our employees do, communicating change, promoting awareness of different programs and services, and when appropriate, highlighting some of the positive feedback that we are receiving, as long...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for his Member's statement earlier today. I think that it is important that we do recognize the incredible work that many of our amazing professionals provide throughout the healthcare system here in the Northwest Territories. These individuals are dedicated. They are committed to doing the best that they can for residents of the Northwest Territories in trying and challenging environments.

The authority does take significant effort to ensure that they are sharing these positive stories with their staff, and there are many different ways that this...

This is what this advisory group is going to help us with. We are not looking to do more planning. We are not looking to do more studies. We have the resource in front of us. We know there was not a lot of uptake. The Member even, in her Member's statement, mentioned that there has not been a lot of uptake with this program and this tool across Canada, so there are clearly some challenges with acceptance of this tool by practitioners. We see that there is some value, and we are going to get this group to work with us to help us figure out how to get more buy-in and utilize this tool as...