Glen Abernethy

I understand the Member’s point but I do have to continually remind everybody that health outcomes are primarily influenced by socio-economic conditions and it’s going to take all of us working together, all of the departments working together.

With respect to the Department of Health and Social Services, we are the lead on the Anti-Poverty Action Plan; we are a partner on Early Childhood Development Action Plan; we’re the lead on Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan. We’ve also got a number of different cancer strategies that we’re partnering with the Government of Canada to implement here...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are large health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in residents across Canada. Poor health outcomes in the proportionately larger Aboriginal population here in the Northwest Territories, compared to other jurisdictions, is influencing the overall results in the NWT.

To be clear, the Conference Board of Canada’s report, How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada, measures health outcomes based on 10 indicators which evaluate health outcomes as opposed to health care systems. Health outcomes are primarily influenced by socio-economic...

Mr. Chair, the timeline is we need to pass the legislation. The legislation is before committee. Committee is reviewing that legislation. Should that legislation pass, then we have a go live date of April 1, 2016. Our hope would be that we would be able to facilitate this change for that time, but we recognize that it may take a little bit longer to work through all the challenges with superann and union, but our goal is to look at April 1, 2016. So it would not be the 2015-16 fiscal year.

The Member keeps talking about the health care system, but I do need to remind the Member that the Conference Board of Canada’s report, How Canada Performs, is a snapshot at a point in time intended to provide governments with recommendations on how they can improve their systems by providing a snapshot. Health outcomes, once again, are measured using 10 indicators that recognize or evaluate health outcomes, not the health care system. We have to deal with the root causes and here in the Northwest Territories, and today I have clearly articulated that many, many actions and activities that we...

As I’ve indicated previously, there are large disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people across Canada. The reported health outcomes in the report are partially due to the proportionately larger Aboriginal population that we have in the Northwest Territories. The health outcomes are measured using assessment tools for health outcomes, not health care systems. Mr. Speaker, we are not challenging these results, but we are taking them in the intended from which they were provided. They were to provide us with an opportunity and tools to help improve our system. We are addressing the...

We already work with the other two territories on a number of initiatives. I had a conversation with the two Ministers last week and we’ve agreed to get together and have a tri-territorial meeting later this spring to discuss other areas where we can work together to improve the wellness and health outcomes of residents of the Northwest Territories.

Once again, to be clear, health outcomes are measured using 10 indicators that evaluate health outcomes, not health care systems. We are making improvements to the provision of health and social services here in the Northwest Territories. We’re moving forward with the health transformation with a focus on all residents of the Northwest Territories.

I just want to point out that the report from the Conference Board of Canada provided several recommendations for the NWT to improve health outcomes such as using a tailored approach including Aboriginal traditional knowledge and health policy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Influences on the Quality of Life of the Older Adult in the Northwest Territories.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are multiple things going on here and I would encourage the community to continue to work with the RCMP to explore options and solutions for their community.

We, as a Cabinet, know that there are many solutions in communities. A lot of communities are stepping up with creative ideas and options for their people and we want to support that as much as possible. So I look forward to hearing what the community has to say. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I actually haven’t had any discussions with the Member on this and I was not aware that Tsiigehtchic was looking for a women’s shelter. When it comes to domestic violence and abuse here in the Northwest Territories, we work closely with the Department of Justice and other community organizations to try to find local solutions. But I would be happy to have discussion with the Member and the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.