Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Canadian citizens, residents of Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte have the ability to receive medically necessary services anywhere in the country that they wish. The NWT actually has a reciprocal billing arrangement with all the provinces and territories throughout the country under our obligations under the Canada Health Act. These agreements ensure that residents obtain medically necessary physician and hospital services when they are temporarily outside of the Northwest Territories without having to pay up front. This is true everywhere, with the exception of Quebec...

Currently, within our structure, there’s actually no board in the Deh Cho. We have a public administrator. The board was dismantled some time ago. With the move to single authority here in the Northwest Territories, we wanted to ensure that it was essential, or actually, we feel it was essential that we continue to get a regional voice and community voice to help us customize and enhance programs at the community level so that the regions and communities also have a voice at a territorial level.

As I’ve committed to this House before, now that the legislation has passed, I want to move forward...

We do have Our Elders, Our Communities, which is our strategy for our seniors here in the Northwest Territories with a focus on helping residents age in place, where appropriate, and then moved to other facilities as needed. We are providing training to different people throughout the Northwest Territories in the areas of palliative care and others and then home care support, to ensure that we have people available. I can’t actually recall, off the top of my head, the specifics that are being done in the Deh Cho, but I will commit to getting that information to the Member. Thank you.

I guess it depends on how you define long. It first came to my attention about a year ago. I had the department do some research and analysis into what other jurisdictions are doing. We got some information back. I was satisfied that what the other jurisdictions were doing was reasonable and I have given the department direction to move. They need a bit of time to develop, sort of, the awareness campaign and to change our regulations and our guidelines to make sure that we can actually accommodate this and ensure that those residents who are going to be gone from the Northwest Territories are...

At this point, I am hoping to have the changes done by the fall.

All health and social services are available to all residents of the Northwest Territories. They don’t always occur in the community where somebody lives, but we have mechanisms to bring people to care or provide care by individuals coming in from time to time. We can meet the needs of our residents.

I recognize there are some challenges, but I would once again say, work with us. Get the Members who are having their concerns talk to the quality assurance so that we can investigate the individual issues to identify the root causes for some of these problems and work with the communities.

I’m...

First and foremost we should be working with the residents of Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte to restore their confidence in the health care system. We are moving forward to make significant changes in how we provide services. I did have an opportunity to visit Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte and I have been working closely with the public administrator and CEO, trying to find ways to restore that confidence.

If somebody is sick, they should use the health centre. But as a resident of Canada, they do have the right to go wherever they chose and we do have reciprocal billing agreements.

Our challenge...

Mr. Speaker, an equitable and sustainable health care system is one of the priorities of the 17th Assembly. One way we can support this priority is by improving the management of pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Speaker, to date, provincial and territorial governments have each made significant efforts to address the challenges and manage pharmaceuticals in a way that maximizes patient health outcomes while contributing to system sustainability.

Under the leadership of Canada’s Premiers, provincial and territorial governments have demonstrated their commitment to working together to produce significant...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 47, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act, be read for the third time.

That is the intent of the health care system, and in that clinic you’ll see well man, well woman, well baby clinics, as well as other information being shared with our residents. The facility has a huge opportunity to continue to provide the quality services that are being delivered in the community now, but over time, there’s also some space for growth and some change of programs. So, as I said to Mr. Menicoche earlier, we’re committed to the health and well-being of all of our residents and we will work with the communities. Thank you.