Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Based on recommendations from the Minister’s Forum on Addictions, we have been pursuing options for on-the-land programming as well as mobile treatment. The on-the-land program may not be the most appropriate locations for specific hard core or hard drug addictions, but we do have some facilities in the South that we are contracted where that might be more appropriate. We’re working with a number of different groups who have come forward with a bunch of different opportunities for on-the-land programming. Some of them are for more after-care follow-up, some of them are...

I am aware of the rates and there are a number of things we’re trying to do. We’re obviously trying to encourage healthier living. We have the Healthy Choices framework where we’re trying to encourage people to eat healthy, live healthy, be healthy, quit smoking and lose weight. All of these things obviously contribute to cancer rates in the Northwest Territories, so we’re trying to help people make healthy choices. We do have system navigators in place to help individuals when they’re through, and we do have health professionals in most of the communities where we’re encouraging individuals...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of things that we’re doing across the Northwest Territories, and each of the authorities is responsible for providing the health professionals in their communities, and nurses are out there trying to encourage people to come into the health centres when they’re not feeling well, to get pre-screening and to get regular well man and well woman clinics done.

Prevention is one thing that we need to be doing, and we’re doing that. The other thing that we need to be doing is making sure that people are getting a timely assessment. I would encourage the...

We’re definitely breaking new ground in this area and we are working with our partners in the communities as well as across the Northwest Territories and they are working with clinical professionals who have provided more standard, typical type programming in other jurisdictions, as well, in the North. We are going to put a solid evaluation framework around this particular program to make sure that we can assess the on-the-land programs that are being delivered to make sure that as we move forward that any on-the-land program that we are supporting here in the Northwest Territories is...

In the Northwest Territories we want to make sure that our residents have options and choices, which is why we’ve gone with contracts in some southern facilities that provide some high quality programing. We are looking at on-the-land programming for, as I said, things like after-care or for prevention, support of families, and we are looking at a mobile option.

The Member is right; there was a pilot in Nunavut that didn’t work out around mobile treatment, but we are working with some of the southern institutions as well as there are institutions here in the Northwest Territories who have...

Thank you. We are committed to working with residents on this particular issue and we’re committed to doing a number of things, including some prevention and direct supports to our residents. We have run a number of pilots in different communities on diabetes programming, but I hear the Member, it’s an interesting idea. I would love to sit down with the Member and committee and get a little bit more input on specifically what they’re making reference to and I would be happy to have some additional discussion on that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, diabetes is, from my understanding, on the rise across Canada. We are not unique. Our rates increase by about 200 people a year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The review, analysis and direction will be completed within the 17th Assembly. It might take a bit of time, but I will continue to work with the Member and committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think it’s important to finish the analysis first so we can figure out what the appropriate make-up would be. It may not be an LPN, it may not be an RN. It may be, it may not be. We need to do that work and we have committed and I have committed to do that work and sharing the results with the Member, so we can have an informed discussion on how we can provide quality care for the residents of Tsiigehtchic and the other small communities in the Northwest Territories.

Recruitment is ongoing on a regular basis for the positions we have in the health and social services system across the Northwest Territories. Every day we’re hiring nurses and other allied health professionals. The division that has suspended some programs is more in the planning area around providing incentives for Northerners to pursue careers, and we have provided significant numbers of bursaries. We have had programs like the Community Health Development Program and the intent is good, but we need to make sure that we’re getting value for money. If we’re spending money on bursaries and...