Glen Abernethy

We have a standing agreement with an airline to be the first airline that we go to in cases of medical travel. That airline has provided good services. We have a really good relationship with them where we get discounted rates and, if flights are cancelled at the last minute, we don't hit a financial penalty on that.

Recognizing that, we know that it doesn't always work, and we have the freedom to go to other airlines, but our priority is to go to the airline of our standing offer agreement. We do use other airlines from time to time if we see these cancellations occurring, because our...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I spent a significant amount of my life standing in front of an incredibly loud speaker. I didn't have the microphone in my ear. Rock and roll kills. Can I get the Member to repeat that question?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that is because the Hay River authority got a bunch of money as part of the transition into the hospital, into the new hospital, and the fact that Woodland and the old hospital had to be opened to cover the long-term care for a period of time.

As I said, there are a lot of organizations out there like Drug Free Canada who have already done really, really good work as far as putting together information in a readable, usable format. The materials that the Member has referred to are actually available on the Drugs Free Kids Canada organization website where you see the brochure, but you can also order it online and get copies for yourself.

I do have a copy myself. I have talked to the department since the Member and I have talked to see what we can do to get a quantity of those materials to distribute among stakeholders throughout the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we are hoping to have a document prepared to have discussion with committee in the next three or four months; hopefully, three months. From there, we will have a discussion with committee on how to proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that meeting was very focused on NIHB. I have been working to set up meetings with our Indigenous partners on a regular basis. We try to do it annually. Last year, it kind of did not happen because we couldn't get everybody together at the same time, but we are planning one for this spring, where we can work on shared priorities, issues that we need to work on together with the federal government but also things we need to do here, in the Northwest Territories. That relationship is very important to us, and we are looking forward to reconvening those meetings...

Once again, the Department of Health and Social Services' responsibility is to provide care to residents of the Northwest Territories. Medical travel is an incredibly important program, and we rely in good faith on airlines who have scheduled flights. We have to make choices about when to book people and how to move people into their appointments as quickly and appropriately as possible. If appointments are cancelled, we take immediate action to rebook and to arrange flights accordingly. If there is urgency, there will not be a three-month delay; we will find ways to make it happen as quickly...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I can provide a list, or the Member could read Hansard. I have just listed off all the services that are going to be in the old Stanton building. The only ones that are going to sort of need to be relocated because they don't exist in there now are extended care, physio, occupational therapy. The rest of them don't exist in the building now, so they won't be affected. We will be looking for temporary lease space to accommodate us during the retrofit of the old Stanton building. I don't know what that location is yet. That lease hasn't been let. I couldn't tell...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Not exactly; this is for any resident who is not working, who is receiving income support, who might be faced with a condition or a drug cost that would cause undue hardship, so we are trying to be available for those individuals who could be in a very, very difficult place if they are not covered. So it's not just non-Indigenous people. It could be Indigenous people, as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is more of an encouragement than a negotiation when it comes to the actual formulary. Thank you.