Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am not sitting at that table, so I can't tell you the nitty-gritty of every conversation that has been had. There is a network group that has been established. Staff from the department have been reaching out to that network group and all the individuals who are associated with that network. It is more than just asking for little pieces of information. We have been trying to get a sense from them about what level of staffing they require to provide the core services that they are mandated to provide. We are having discussion about those numbers.

Some of the...

Mr. Chair, I apologize. When the Member referenced the page, I started turning the page and I did not hear the question. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair; and I hate to do this, but I'm not sure I understand. What specific area or what specific section are you making reference to, again? Just for clarity.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, although Hay River is still technically out of the authority, they're a separate body. We've been trying really hard to cooperate and work as a single system, and they've been very cooperative with us. I do know that they go out and they do their own recruitment. I'll ask the deputy to have a conversation with the CEO on how we might be able to join forces on some of these recruitment fairs that will help Hay River, obviously, control their costs, while allowing us to get some economies of scale. I think they'll need to be there as well because they're better...

Ultimately we see them being a part of the single system here. We do recognize that there are some unique realities in our healthcare system with two separate boards. We hope to bring Hay River into the public service at some point. Until that happens, there is a midwife representative from the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority on the territorial midwifery expansion working group. They are participating in a design and participating in the work that is needed to be done before we could actually roll out a midwifery program.

We've also been engaging with the TCSA on the midwifery...

That is correct, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, as I said before, there are 11 new positions. Seven of them have been filled. We've got four that are currently being recruited for. I can't say why we were unsuccessful in previous recruitments, but they are currently out for recruitment.

Two of them that are out for recruitment are Nahanni Butte and K'aagee in the Member's riding. We've also got one that we're trying to fill in Lutselk'e. We've got one that we're still trying to fill in Inuvik. The rest of them have been filled. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I hear the Member. I guess, to be clear, the formula we are working on together with the existing shelters isn't just a monetary thing. It is a service-level discussion, as well. Recognizing that right now, where shelters don't exist, there is money to bring people in. We need to make sure that those mechanisms exist. That doesn't mean we shouldn't explore what the Member is talking about.

We need to make sure we have these service levels understood so that we are getting as much for the money that we have. Then I think we will be in a better position once we have some...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Once again, my memory of that particular conversation is around what we wanted to do in the individual authorities so that individuals have an opportunity to provide or register their concerns in the Territorial Authorities, so it can be reviewed by our quality assurance staff and so that recommendations can be made for improvements.

Now, having said that, there are also other venues for our residents to make complaints. For instance, if a resident has a concern about a physician, there is a formal mechanism for residents to make complaints about physicians. If a resident...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I believe the RFP says, "frail elders." So I think that's where the priority is being placed, but I accept the need for flexibility and we'll see what kind of proposals we get. Thank you, Mr. Chair.