Jane Groenewegen

Agreed, thank you. Health and Social Services, program delivery support, operations expenditure summary, $40.686 million. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Ms. DeLancey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to follow up on some questions that were being posed here in the Legislature last week on midwifery. I want to say in my preamble that I was very glad to hear the Minister of Health and Social Services not agreeing with everything that was being suggested about midwifery, and using words like “common sense” and “basically pushing back” a little bit on this theory that midwifery is the panacea of birthing opportunities in the Northwest Territories.

Being from a community where there are currently no resident physicians, certainly the desire of people to...

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. I’m just going to call the page again, and then I have Mr. Bromley. Health and Social Services, operations expenditure, directorate, $8.599 million. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Ms. DeLancey. Minister Beaulieu.

Because this is a new system and the expiry coincides with people’s birthdates, I would like to ask the Minister if there is a grace period that’s being extended to someone. If they show up at any kind of a medical service provider and their health care card is expired, will they still be provided services without having to apply for them and then be reimbursed or anything like that? Is there a grace period?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wonder how many people in our territory know that they have to renew their health care card. I just asked that because that is the new system that has been adopted by our Health department. It is now up to everyone to check the expiry date on their health care card and apply for a new one a few months in advance. The form is available on the Health and Social Services website, and at nursing stations and medical clinics.

I know there has been some advertising about this, and postcards to remind people to renew are being sent out, but old habits die hard. No doubt there...

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Next on my list is Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. By the sounds of it, all of them, but I’ll refer to the Minister.