Glen Abernethy

The report and the Member's comments are contingent upon doing things the same way, which obviously does not work. We need to do the work to review the office. It will change in its operations, its design. We will find efficiencies, and, once that work is done, we will have a better sense of whether or not we are spending our money wisely and getting good value for money. We anticipate that there is going to be some changes. Those changes will help inform what our true costs need to be as opposed to what they would be. If we keep doing things poorly, we will keep getting poor results. We are...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Work continues in this area. I am not participating in negotiations, so I would like to go to the deputy minister for some detail. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our staff do provide advice, guidance on how to maneuver the system to approach the appeals process. The issue that the Member has raised, I do not know for sure whether that is true. I hear the Member. We need to look into that if that is the issue the Member is talking about. I am happy to look into that to find out if that is happening. We mirror NIHB, and, if Blue Cross is not doing that, then we need to deal with that, obviously. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. A bunch of the moves obviously are going to happen in subsequent fiscal years, given when the hospital intended to open and the transition supposed to happen, but, ultimately, what we are looking to do is there are going to be a number of positions in the new hospital that are in-patient OT/PT and other therapeutic services. Outpatient therapeutic or other outpatient therapeutic services such as OT/PT are intended to be in the old Stanton building. We will have to go through a transition phase as that building is renovated to meet the needs. I have had the opportunity to...

[Microphone turned off] eligible for supplemental health benefits, the answer is yes, it does not change whether you are in jail or not. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our priority is obviously stabilizing the Office of the Public Guardian, which includes rewriting the policies and procedures manual and ensuring that the office is adequately resourced, staffed. We are looking at different possible models based on the recommendations, which could be a decentralized model. That is our first priority, but the Member has a point, and I agree with the Member that audits are necessary and required. I have given the department direction that, moving forward, an audit plan will be developed and implemented once the foundational...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The second one the Member described. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, these changes are as a result of having to keep Woodland Manor open while constructing the new long-term care or extended care facility, so we had to double up some of our resources for that period of time. They will be moving in in this fiscal year, so we don't need to continue to double up those positions, but there are some new positions that are required for that. So it's the two new positions that are required for the new Woodland Manor, but we do not need the ones that were hanging around in HH Williams as a result of the transition period. So it's a move...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, these are coordinator-type positions that are actually trying to coordinate the services. They are not necessarily a frontline provider, but they are helping individuals get to where they need the assessments, do get the services that they require. They are also helping coordinate individuals coming in to where different assessments could be done and helping, when appropriate, having some of our professionals go out to do assessments, as well. They are providing territorial services. It does not exist today to this degree. It's certainly an enhancement to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple of things: our territorial corrections facilities have nurses on staff who provide some level of services, but, if they need services that are not available by the corrections system, we do work with those patients. The guards will often bring them out so that they can attend their appointments and whatnot. All the services that we provide to residents are the same for our inmates, unless they are federal inmates, at which point they are covered by Correctional Service of Canada. We do have federal inmates in the Northwest Territories, but, if they are NWT...