Glen Abernethy

We are always looking for opportunities to strengthen our response to these types of breaches, to make sure that they do not happen again. This one is very complex. There is lots of information out there, lots of conflicting information, and I think it's too early to presume we know what the findings are going to be. We are working closely with the Information and Privacy Commissioner. The Information and Privacy Commissioner, will likely be making a report on this, as well, and I look forward to discussing those findings with the Information and Privacy Commissioner, with committee, to make...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the breach was incredibly troubling. We take it very seriously. We have been working very closely with the Information and Privacy Commissioner, who actually has possession of those files that were found. We have attempted to reach out to all of the clients, but the records are quite old and some of the contact information on those records is not current, so we are trying to track down some individuals. As of February 21st, 69 individuals have been notified by the authority, by mail. As I said, the documents, some of them, are very old, so we have not been able...

We did release the oral health strategy here in the Northwest Territories, and the focus is on prevention rather than the actual provision of services, because the provision of services is the responsibility of private dentists and others. We do accept and we do agree with everything the Member said about the value of oral health and healthy gums, a healthy mouth leading to overall health. We do have the oral health strategy. There is a lot of focus on youth, as the Member has said.

However, with regard to oral health initiatives for the adult population, there are a number of action items...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing the time, I will try my best to do this quickly. Dental services are not provided by the Government of the Northwest Territories. They are provided by private clinics and private practitioners. That is for all residents of the Northwest Territories. Dental services are not an insured health service.

However, the department does administer portions of the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB) on behalf of the federal government, who do have some responsibility for ensuring that dental services are provided to those who are eligible for NIHB. The health...

We are certainly not waiting a year. We are anticipating we will get a report back by the end of March, barring any unforeseen circumstances or other challenges. We will need to get that report, review it, have discussions with committee and other stakeholders, and then we will be releasing what we can. Some of the information we may not be able to release as a result of privacy concerns, but, where possible, we need to be able to discuss what happened, how it happened, and what we are planning to do to make sure it does not happen again. We want to do that as soon as possible, but we have got...

No.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are lots of things that are happening in the Health and Social Services system with a focus on improving the delivery to all residents. Moving a single authority has given us many opportunities, and the construction of the new Stanton building will certainly help us provide efficient services in that building.

More importantly, for residents outside of Yellowknife, residents of the Member's riding, I think that one of the most important things that we are doing right now is the Cultural Safety Action Plan, which is going to help ensure that our...

All of the programs and services, counselling and treatment services, that we provide are based on a referral. They would need a referral for us to provide them with financial supports and coverage.

Many insurance providers don't need our same-level referral. They can always approach their own insurance provider if they have it, recognizing that not everybody has it, but typically, no, if someone seeks treatment outside of our system, we wouldn't cover their costs.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, two things: number one, for issues that are critical or urgent, there really are no wait times. We triage these individuals right away, and, if the triage identifies it as being an urgent or a critical issue, they will see somebody right away.

However, the Member is correct. There are wait times for non-urgent counselling services here in the Northwest Territories, and some of them are quite long. Yellowknife, for adults, it is up to three months; for children, two months. In Behchoko, it is anywhere from four to five weeks' wait time for non-urgent...

Under medical travel, you are referred to the location within our system that has the services available closest. For some individuals, they would come into Inuvik. For some individuals, they might come into Hay River. For some individuals, they would come into Yellowknife.

For things like MRIs and many of our specialist appointments or surgeries, our relationship is with Alberta, so our referral pattern is into Alberta. We are working with a couple of our communities in the Deh Cho to create a relationship with northern BC, but for the most part, all of our referrals are to our partners in...