Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the interim appropriation is calculated based on when we actually expect to spend the money. Historically, the department's interim appropriations have been approximately one quarter of what the total budget is expected to be from the upcoming year, as a significant amount of the department’s funding flows to the health and social services authorities through regular monthly cash flows, something that we have to do. However, the budget for out-of-territory hospitals sit in the ambulatory care service item line, the line the Member is talking about. We don't...

The 2012 report was more of an aspirational report. It wasn't actually a prescribed plan. It proposed three models for conversation: a community-based model, which the consultants felt could work in communities like Hay River, Inuvik, Yellowknife, or Behchoko; a regional model, which the consultants felt could work in the Beaufort-Delta, the Sahtu, or the Tlicho regions; and a territorial model. We did move forward and stabilize the midwifery services in Fort Smith. We did expand and provide midwifery services in Hay River. The realities in the Beaufort-Delta changed when we were actually...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we moved forward with midwives and stabilized midwives in Fort Smith, so there are two positions there providing birthing services in the community. We also have two staffed midwife positions in Hay River that are providing birthing services, as well as other services in the community. We did move forward with a model in the Beaufort-Delta. Originally, we were planning to have a community-based midwifery program there, but our demographics and some of our information changed. As a result, we went with a more community-based, or more regional, model that is...

It's going to be really important to get feedback from as many interested parties as possible, and over the next year, the department will reach out to community members, Aboriginal organizations, healthcare practitioners, and others from across the Northwest Territories to help develop an understanding of the strengths and gaps in the priorities for the enhancement of midwifery services at a territorial and Yellowknife level. The timing and details of the consultation plan will be developed by March 2017, and we hope to have a completed proposal for development of the territorial midwifery...

There is no designated midwifery unit in the hospital, as midwifery is primarily a community-based service versus an acute care service. If the territorial midwifery program is advanced to implementation, part of the development will be to include identifying an appropriate location that best fits the needs of the program. As a note, Mr. Speaker, the three birthing rooms in the new hospital are sized to include birthing tubs, which would allow for water birth. Those rooms actually, the physical layout and how those tubs will be utilized, the midwifery consultants actually had some opportunity...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize two different individuals: Victoria Baker and Sheena Goudreau. Both are senior nursing consultants with the territorial health services division in the Department of Health and Social Services. Welcome to the gallery.

We won't know what the federal legislation looks like until it is passed. We anticipate that it will be passed on June 6, which means we will have to be in a position to facilitate physician-assisted dying here in the Northwest Territories. Now that we have pulled together some information from stakeholders across Northwest Territories, we have the expert panel's report, we also have the report that was prepared for the federal government, and we also know that a number of the different provincial colleges of physicians are doing a significant amount of work on this. We are going to pull all...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last June, we formed a partnership with the other provinces and territories and we actually had an expert advisory group pulled together to go out and do some research and analysis on physician-assisted dying. That report has been made available. We have had a number of discussions at the FPT level to see what other jurisdictions are doing so that we could have as coordinated an approach as possible. At the same time, earlier this calendar year, we actually went out for a public call for information and feedback from residents across the Northwest Territories. We sent...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Healing Voices Final Report from the Minister’s Forum on Addictions and Community Wellness that was released in May 2013 recommended that the department adopt culture-based approaches to dealing with treatment and wellness of people suffering from addictions. The top recommendation in that report was to increase the availability of on-the-land programming. To that end, the department has put in their budget $1.23 million for on-the-land programming that we flow to different governments and regions in the Northwest Territories.

We do have a contribution...

The medical travel modernization is an ongoing project. The first step in the work was actually revising the Medical Travel Policy, and that was actually revised and came into effect on April 1, 2015. The policy revisions included moving the program administration detail out of the Cabinet-approved policy into a ministerial policy. These are now subject to periodic reviews, and may be updated so that they can continue to meet the needs of the public and the health system.

Under the revised policy, we have also been able to establish an appeals process, which is new. One of the major elements...