Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has a good relationship with the NWT Seniors’ Society. We also have statistics on the ages of all residents of the Northwest Territories. We work closely with the local seniors’ societies, as well, to make sure that we’re aware of what’s going on in the communities, and we are doing a number of things to make sure that seniors throughout the Northwest Territories are informed. We did work closely with the NWT Seniors’ Society on the development of a Seniors’ Handbook, which basically outlines a lot of the different types of programs and services that are...

Mr. Speaker, we will work with communities; we will work with Members; we will work with committees to find ways to enhance and improve services for all residents of the Northwest Territories, including those in the small communities of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The other challenge obviously is the fact that under our ISDM we don’t have one-nurse stations, so we would have a challenge there as well. I will not commit to putting a nurse in that house at this time, but I will commit to working with the community, with the committee, as well as the health authority to find solutions that work for all communities, including Tsiigehtchic. Thank you.

The air ambulance services for the Northwest Territories are currently out for RFP. They are being overseen by a fairness commissioner, who if individuals have concerns with the process can file complaints with. As this is being overseen by a fairness commissioner, I will not be talking about the current RFP. Thank you.

I’d like to just correct my last remark; it is nine communities. Sachs Harbour does have a nurse in charge and a CHN, so it is nine communities, so good progress there.

Mr. Speaker, it’s a similar response that I’ve had before. We are going to look at the ISDM; we are going to work with the Members and the communities to try and find solutions that work. I can’t commit to putting nurses in those communities at this time because we haven’t done the work. We need to figure out what will work to provide the residents the best care, the best health and the best results that we can. So, I will do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Health and Social Services, my priority is going to be on the client, to providing the best services that we possibly can to the client. This includes residents of all communities throughout the Northwest Territories, including Tsiigehtchic.

In follow-up to the Member’s question, the department has agreed that we would start looking at alternatives and solutions for the small communities like Tsiigehtchic, Colville Lake and Wrigley and we will continue to do that, but we are limited by a number of things.

The current ISDM indicates service levels for...

The air ambulance contract is currently out for a request for proposal. It is being overseen by a fairness commissioner. That fairness commissioner has an obligation to make sure that all aspects of this process are fair, transparent and equal for all. As a result, I will not talk about this contract or this proposal at this time. Thank you.

I’m not familiar with the particular campaign that the Member is talking about, but I like the premise and I like the concept. I would certainly like to sit down with committee and discuss how we can reduce sugar intake in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

With respect to the priority, it may not be the Member’s priority, but we do have financial and potential liability implications with the professions I have identified, which must be addressed for the safety and security of our residents. Therefore, they continue to be at the top of the list. I have directed the department to include naturopathic doctors into the fourth position, so that regulation will happen soon as opposed to later after the bill has been completed.

It should be noted that the lack of regulations does not prevent naturopathic doctors from practicing in the Northwest...

The Department of Health and Social Services is obviously doing a number of things to try to curb the intake of sugar and other things such as tobacco. We do have the Drop the Pop, which the Member so clearly articulated. We do have dieticians and nutritionists available throughout the Northwest Territories to provide advice and guidance to our residents.

The Medical Association deals with patients on a regular basis. We have nurses in our communities who have well men and well women clinics encouraging people to eat healthy, live healthy, be healthy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.