Julie Green

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there isn't hiring that's being planned that would support diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. That really requires a level of specialty that it's necessary to use medical travel to obtain. So, you know, the person would need to go to Edmonton or another place where that kind of specialty is available. What we're offering more is how to support the patient who has that diagnosis.

So going back to home and community care, there was a comprehensive review of that program done in September 2019, and it did, indeed, verify what the Member has said...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NWT Health and Social Services system has always relied on locums, and that is still the case. The positions are located throughout the NWT, and we use them to cover shortterm gaps and ensure that we're providing quality services to our patients. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this information is housed in the same place as I mentioned to the Member from Deh Cho, the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance Program which, as a reminder, is a collaborative network of provincial and territorial surveillance systems supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The information on the website is broken down into geographic region, age, and sex; and the rate of Alzheimer's and other dementias in the NWT for residents aged 65 and older is 5.73 percent which compares to 6.68 percent nationally. The rate of Parkinson's in the NWT for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to update Members on the temporary shutdown of labor and delivery services at Stanton Territorial Hospital. This closure requires the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority to send pregnant people to Edmonton to give birth. I know that this has placed a significant burden on NWT families at what should be a time of joy and celebration. I also recognize that this decision is even more difficult, coming as it does, so close to the holiday season.

This difficult decision was made to ensure the safety of individuals and their...

Yes, thanks. I'm not a big fan of all the editorializing but I'm happy to answer the questions.

So most communities have a resident counselor through either the community counseling service or the child and youth counseling program. And in the event that they don't have a resident counselor, a counselor visits on a known schedule to provide those services.

I recognize from my own travels in the NWT that it's not easy in some communities to obtain enough internet connectivity to sustain a conversation, especially one that has video related to it, and that's a real impediment to the services that...

Yes, thank you. I take it that the Member is talking about buildings. We don't have any buildings on the books other than the wellness and recovery centre in Yellowknife. In Members decide that's a priority, they should bring it to the regular business plan process and pursue the resources necessary to build and operate it. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 31, an Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act.

The development of this bill is the result of swift effort by the Department of Health and Social Services and would not have been possible without the full support of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight.

Madam Chair, the purpose of this bill is twofold:

First is to ensure that residents continue to have access to lifesaving naloxone kits in their communities and from organizations that work directly with residents at risk.

The proposed change will assist in the...

Yes, on the left is Kelly Mahoney, director of policy, legislation and communications, and on the right is Christina Duffy from the Department of Justice.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have any more specific information than the Minister of Finance has. So I can commit to getting that information and bringing it back to the Member.

Yes, thank you. I'm very pleased that the Member has taken note of our recruitment efforts. And those are ongoing of course. We want to make sure that we have the full component of staff. And as I said earlier, we are not anticipating any more closures at the hospital. We have, through a variety of people foregoing holidays, working extra shifts, locums, and so on, we have enough staff to provide the excellent services that residents are used to. Thank you.