Glen Abernethy

Obviously, I'd love to take credit for that work, but it was really work that was led by the communities. It was incredibly valuable. I think the people of the Sahtu really need a pat on the back for the incredible work they've done to create this glossary and get it out to residents of the region. The department did play a role; we did provide some support in the form of some human resources and some other supports. It was a great tool. The department is absolutely open to working with other regions, other language groups, to create similar documents, recognizing that, really, it needs to be...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the Member's opinion, but he is actually incorrect. The resources we have and the systems that we have can do many of the things that the Privacy Commissioner has done. We just have to basically get it incorporated into the system. Some of these will take a bit of time, and we are committed to getting that done. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The funding for these positions is base, so it's part of a core funding. The positions have been created, but yes, authorities, as all employers in the GNWT do, have some freedom to choose whether they want to attempt to fill the positions on term or indeterminate. They will do an assessment of the region community, try to get a sense of who might be available, and go out that mechanism. These are full-time indeterminate positions. They are not going anywhere. How to staff them, the authority does have some freedom of choice based on what they know about the region and...

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...

As I indicated in my previous responses, we do have some new positions that have been put in place to do this type of analysis and put the policies around that. I can't say for certain exactly what those processes are today. Once again, I will get that information for the committee and the Member.

Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to travel with members of the standing committee as they toured different facilities in southern Canada. I think we had a lot of good discussion. I think we learned an awful lot from that experience. As far as setting a priority for the next action plan, I do want to be cautious. I don't want to pre-suppose what's going to be in that document. We still have some work to do. We still have feedback coming from committee. I think all that is going to be incredibly important to help us have an informed discussion and set our priorities moving forward. We do know...

Mr. Speaker, we heard clearly from many people across the Northwest Territories that on-the-land and traditional healing is incredibly important to them, and it is certainly, for many people, part of the process that they are going to go through as they proceed down their healing journey. There are a lot of questions about on-the-land healing programs. There really hasn't been an evaluation mechanism, but we have worked with our Indigenous partners here, in the Northwest Territories, to start the development of an evaluation framework so that we can see and try to assess some of the value.

Obvi...

The situation in Hay River and Inuvik were different. As we roll out the Health Information Act, we get out and train. Also, as we move forward with the single authority, what is clear is that, in the past, not all authorities have applied rules as consistently or the same as others. Having a single authority has really given us an opportunity to make sure that our rules and our procedures and our territorial legislations be applied consistently.

The Hay River situation, as I said, was slightly different than the Inuvik situation. The data that was in question wasn't the same type of data. The...

We have the territorial risk manager, as I have indicated. We also have a territorial health information director or manager. At a local level, all employees are in fact custodians and have a responsibility under the Health Information Act. Ultimately, in every one of our regional offices, the COOs have the responsibility to ensure that all of their staff are properly trained and have a clear understanding of their obligations under the Health Information Act.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled “2017 Annual Report Public Utilities Board of the Northwest Territories." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.