Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my understanding that Nunavut, with a more homogeneous population, put together a proposal and requested federal funding. That's not the stage that I understand that we're at here. I'm not aware that this government ever says no to federal money, but I've never seen a proposal for this healing centre. I'm not clear where things are at. I want to say that there is no reason that the GNWT alone needs to take the lead on this. Indigenous governments and Indigenous government organizations could band together to create a proposal and work with the GNWT on that or not...

It's not as if there are no surgeries taking place, it's just that some surgeries which require larger instruments are not taking place. As a matter of fact, since July, 200 surgeries have been completed, and of the 124 surgeries that were cancelled at the end of July, about 23 of those have been completed. There is a need, of course, to address this big backlog. Some of the things we're looking at is whether it would be possible for people to go to the Inuvik Regional Hospital and have surgery performed there. We had been considering sending patients to Alberta, but unfortunately, that is no...

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral questions asked by the Member for Monfwi on October 20, 2020, regarding Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations.

I acknowledge the Member's reference to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action. Recommendation number 21 calls on the federal government to make funding a healing center in the NWT and Nunavut a priority. We are interested in the work that is going to take place in Nunavut to create a healing center that is distinct from an addictions treatment centre. The department is constantly reviewing best practices in healing...

What I heard when I was on the Standing Committee for Social Development and we toured the treatment centres in the South is that people were most concerned with housing, in particular. They wanted to not return to overcrowded housing, housing over which they had no control of their environment. They were living on a couch and that kind of thing. What they really wanted was a house of their own. Not necessarily even a house but an apartment of their own. That seems to be one of the key factors in making after-care work, and there is, in fact, some language in the mandate about trying this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to introduce Ms. Deborah McLeod and her husband. They are my constituents, and I wish them the very best for their retirement. Thank you.

Absolutely. That is possible. One of the contemplated uses of the on-the-land healing fund is, in fact, after-care and family-based after-care. The Indigenous governments decide on the program. It is a community-based program, and they apply for the money to implement it in their communities according to their own needs. Certainly, the money could be spent on after-care.

I always appreciate the opportunity to plug our on-the-land healing fund. It is $1.8 million annually. It is a very flexible program. People can use it for on-the-land, individuals, after-care, family-based treatment. It is allocated to Indigenous organizations. It is easy to get, and it is very much a community-based program where people can decide on their priorities and how they want them implemented, whether they want to hire staff and so on and so forth. This is on offer to all communities, all Indigenous governments in the NWT, and I encourage them to apply for it. Thank you.

At this point, we don't have a relapse prevention plan, and I'm not aware that there is work being contemplated for this. A person can relapse for a lot of different reasons. They are not necessarily programmatic, that something was missing in their treatment or after-care. There are a lot of different factors that push people into addiction and pull them out of it. What we're doing is a range of supports that is providing people with after-care, with a way to hold onto their sobriety, but we don't have a relapse prevention plan that is called that.

I would like to assure the Member for Deh Cho that we are not playing Russian roulette with the lives of anyone in the NWT, including the people who live in Fort Providence. It's my understanding that healthcare workers are in the exempt list, which means that they have very specific procedures to follow. They have to have a COVID test. They have to wear a mask. They are not allowed to socialize after work or leave the place in which they are staying. There are efforts to bridge the gap between providing the medical service required and keeping the population safe from this person who has...

I am not aware that the department is looking at hiring a public veterinarian. We would certainly be working with ENR in the event that they are looking at hiring a public veterinarian so that we can work together on making sure that zoonotics do not proliferate in the NWT.