Julie Green

Yes, thank you. I'll return with that information. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'm not familiar with this report so I'll have to come back with that information. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I commend the Member for providing a listening ear. He's right; often that is exactly what people need.

As I mentioned previously, there are services available. They've been available throughout the pandemic. We have counselling available on a sameday basis. We have the child and youth care counselling program to assist youth with their mental health issues. So at this point, I think our biggest challenge is staffing.

We do have a number of vacancies. Yesterday in response to a question from another Member, I mentioned that a shortage of housing was...

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I appreciate the question from the Member. There's no question that the pandemic has been a very stressful time. It's produced a lot of anxiety, a lot of depression, and people are reaching out for services. We have, since the beginning of the pandemic, been tracking social indicators and publishing them on our website. They are examined quarterly. And what we see is that the use of our programs has varied over time. It was lower at the start of the pandemic and greater now, and it depends on the particular service that we're talking about. But when it comes to...

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm not aware of a wholeofgovernment approach which would take in all the subject areas the Member mentioned, and we don't have a specific Tlicho plan. As a territorial department, we provide programs and services for the whole territory. We have quite a number of funds that are available by application from communities and Indigenous groups such as the ontheland healing fund, peer support, addictions and aftercare, suicide prevention, and so on. So there are a number of ways that communities can build up their own resources by making applications to...

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this is an unusual occurrence, but I'm not sure which report the Member is referring to. But if she can tell me which report, then I can certainly come back to her with a response. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate again what a difficult time this has been for people across the NWT in all the age groups. There is nobody who has been unaffected by the stress and the strain of the pandemic and now trying to rebound in the light coming back; it's still very cold.

Before committing to helping the entire Beaufort Delta, I want to take a look at the differing service levels in different communities, because I don't think all of them have the same needs. It is possible for us to contract services. We do that for child and youth community counsellors...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recognize that the Member is talking about some issues that preexisted COVID and for which we have specialized support funds, such as the suicide prevention fund. And so I hope that the community has applied for those funds and considered how to use them. They are to address that particular problem.

In the time that I've been Health Minister, there was a travelling team that went to Tuktoyaktuk and spent a few days there. And I think it was around about January of last year. And so I'm certainly happy to inquire whether that kind of a response is possible again...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am happy to announce that, starting immediately, we are resuming labour and delivery services for all NWT residents.

This means that any NWT resident who is due to deliver a child can now expect their delivery to happen in the Northwest Territories starting today. This represents a more rapid reopening than announced at the end of last month. The improved staffing outlook through March and April has made this change possible.

At this time residents from Nunavut, who are normally served by Stanton Territorial Hospital, will continue to travel to...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the question. The thing that the families who are now in Edmonton should do is talk to their health care provider in Edmonton about the possibility of travelling back to Yellowknife in order to give birth at Stanton, and that health care provider can evaluate the stage of their pregnancy, potential complications and so on, and give them an answer. Thank you.