Jane Groenewegen

I’d like to recognize Mrs. Eileen Collins in the gallery today. She’s president of the Hay River Seniors’ Society and vice-president of the Northwest Territories Seniors’ Society and has worked tirelessly to articulate the concerns of Hay River seniors with respect to supplementary health benefits and many other projects she’s undertaken.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to present a petition dealing with the matter of changes to seniors’ health benefit programs. The petition that I present contains 779 signatures of Hay River residents. The petition is requesting that the implementation of this program not proceed until substantial consultation has taken place, as the signatures that Mr. Ramsay has read. Seven-hundred and seventy-nine. Thank you.

When you consider the other types of supplementary health benefits insurance and support that’s out there, government employees are covered, people who work for large corporations are covered, the Metis health benefit covers some folks, the non-insured health benefit covers some folks. When you calculate, take all the indigent people who are covered, when you take them all out of the mix, how many people are there in the Northwest Territories who are not receiving supplementary health benefits?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services today. We over the years have asked many times for the Department of Health to review supplementary health benefits to see if something could be done for those folks that are working but do not receive coverage or benefits from any other source. I’m referring to mostly families who work for the private sector and don’t have employee sponsored insurance programs and we thought that was a good thing.

The Supplementary Health Benefits Program was reviewed. Little did we know that inadvertently there would be...

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to present a petition dealing with the matter of changes to seniors’ health benefit programs. The petition that I present contains 779 signatures of Hay River residents. The petition is requesting that the implementation of this program not proceed until substantial consultation has taken place, as the signatures that Mr. Ramsay has read. Seven-hundred and seventy-nine. Thank you.

Thank you. I, too, would like to speak to the proposed and ill-conceived changes to the Supplementary Health Benefits Program here in the Northwest Territories.

Probably in my 13 years as MLA this is the most public feedback I’ve received on something the government proposed to do. I do appreciate the Minister’s statement today, that in fact the government is willing to put this on hold -- the implementation -- and look at revising these changes so that they will be more thought out and will close those gaps as the Health Minister referred to them.

As my colleague Ms. Bisaro said, the problems...

When you consider the other types of supplementary health benefits insurance and support that’s out there, government employees are covered, people who work for large corporations are covered, the Metis health benefit covers some folks, the non-insured health benefit covers some folks. When you calculate, take all the indigent people who are covered, when you take them all out of the mix, how many people are there in the Northwest Territories who are not receiving supplementary health benefits?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services today. We over the years have asked many times for the Department of Health to review supplementary health benefits to see if something could be done for those folks that are working but do not receive coverage or benefits from any other source. I’m referring to mostly families who work for the private sector and don’t have employee sponsored insurance programs and we thought that was a good thing.

The Supplementary Health Benefits Program was reviewed. Little did we know that inadvertently there would be...

Thank you. I, too, would like to speak to the proposed and ill-conceived changes to the Supplementary Health Benefits Program here in the Northwest Territories.

Probably in my 13 years as MLA this is the most public feedback I’ve received on something the government proposed to do. I do appreciate the Minister’s statement today, that in fact the government is willing to put this on hold -- the implementation -- and look at revising these changes so that they will be more thought out and will close those gaps as the Health Minister referred to them.

As my colleague Ms. Bisaro said, the problems...

Thank you. I give notice that on Friday, February the 6th, 2009, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that pursuant to subsection 61(2) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, this Assembly formally revokes the pleasure of the Assembly from the appointments of the Premier and all Members of the Executive Council effective February 9, 2009, at 1:30 p.m. MST;

And further, that this Assembly recommends that a Premier and Executive Council be chosen without delay and that the Commissioner be notified of the...