Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Contribution agreements already require the health and social services authorities to comply with applicable laws and policies and that every payment is conditional of the fulfillment of the authority’s obligations under their agreements.

This clause, I feel, is specific enough to cover what the committee is asking for in the committee’s proposal, but obviously more is needed. What is needed is better enforcement and better monitoring. I’m concerned, or rather, realistically, withholding funding from an authority is not necessarily the answer. My focus and the department’s...

Having the data would obviously help us make better decisions with respect to the safety and well-being of our residents when they are in southern facilities. I don’t know the cost of a survey like this, but it’s certainly a good idea and I will talk to the department to check the feasibility of doing something like that, recognizing that we are a little tight on finances right now but I like the idea of having the information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The action plan will be public and it will include details on actions as well as providing some time frames. Performance reporting will also be public for anybody who wants to look at it. I can commit to updating the action plan with progress reports on a regular basis. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize for the confusion. Several months ago, I briefed committee and provided them with some information on the review of the Medical Travel Policy. We had hoped to actually have what would be the base policy, the Cabinet policy ready for some discussion in March. Unfortunately, I had an opportunity to be briefed on that and I didn’t feel it was consistent with the types of questions and concerns the Members had been raising, so I asked the department to do a little bit of work. As a result, we are delayed on that. I hope to have that base Cabinet policy around...

There are a number of services, and I hear the Member, we may have a communication gap in getting this information to the right people at the right time. I know our professionals certainly share the information when they come in contact, but if they don’t come in contact, the Member is right, the individuals who may need the information may not have it. I will have a conversation with the deputy of Health and Social Services to find out and get more concrete information around the types of communication we are using to help get the right information to the right people at the right time. I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no cure for FASD that I am aware of. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I’m certainly going to have to follow up with the department to ask some additional questions and get some more information for the Member. The BiliBlankets offer the possibility to treat some degrees of jaundice at home for otherwise healthy babies. I acknowledge that there are some advantages here, but there are other methods of treatment as well.

In the Northwest Territories, unlike the rest of the country where the statistical prevalence of this particular condition is about 50 percent in babies, in the Northwest Territories, fortunately our statistics are significantly lower...

I would encourage the grandparents, obviously, to talk to social services to see how they can engage with the system, but it does come back to the parents who have the legal responsibility for those children. They would have to be involved as well. History would have to be determined; a file would have to be created. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, just for clarity, raising children is, first and foremost, a responsibility of the family. Parents have the right to make decisions about where their children live, but the GNWT is not necessarily responsible for paying for those decisions. The only time the GNWT would actually become involved is if a family has some financial challenges, is living in poverty, and we would provide income support. Families can make the decision to have children stay with one group and then apply for income support.

When health and social services becomes involved, the only time we can actually...

Mr. Speaker, June 1st is National Cancer Survivors Day. This day is an annual celebration of life and loved ones. Each year it reminds us of the importance of speaking openly about cancer and supporting one another in the face of such a serious disease.

On average, 111 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the NWT every year. There is life after diagnosis. The NWT residents I know who have cancer have shown courage and strength in their individual cancer journeys.

Too often we think that the diagnosis of cancer is a reason for despair, but more people are surviving and going on to live full...