Julie Green

Yes, thank you. I'm sure that that would be useful to if you had a copy of your own if you had your own immunization. But the information sharing would open it up to everyone without them having to obtain paper that indicates that they have been vaccinated.

These discussions are well along, and I heard the Chief Public Health Officer say on the radio yesterday that she expected them to conclude shortly.

I just want to add one more thing, and that is that the situation between ourselves and Yukon is what the whole world is now grappling with, with immunization records, how do we create a system...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think there is a position that is specifically about navigating public health orders. Although, of course, people who work in public health in Tuk and in Inuvik would be able to talk to the public health orders, what they mean, and answer questions about them. So that certainly is possible. In terms of appointing someone brand new to a position in Tuktoyaktuk, that would really need to be a budget consideration. And so I invite the Member to forward that when the time comes. Thank you.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the COVID19 pandemic has presented the Northwest Territories and its residents, communities, and businesses with many challenges. I know all residents are now well into the COVID19 fatigue stage. We all want to see things back to normal and public health measures lifted.

Mr. Speaker, since the start of the pandemic, protecting NWT residents against COVID19 has been this government's biggest priority. We have known from the start that vaccines would be an essential part of our strategy and it is one of the most important factors the Chief Public Health...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do not have a pot of funding that is designated to COVID fatigue, but we do offer a suite of funds to deal with health and wellness, including ontheland funding, peer support, suicide prevention. We have counsellors who are resident in Tuktoyaktuk, and they are able to offer sameday appointments. We have apps for people to use who are experiencing anxiety and depression, parenting problems, and so on.

I realize that may not be very helpful in communities with slow internet connections. But we do have this range of funding available. And it's my...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do not at this point have a specific number. We've been saying to people that they should get vaccinated if at all possible. The higher the vaccination rate, the better off we all are.

I think one of the lessons from the MJ outbreak is how vulnerable unvaccinated people are. Almost all of the cases there were children. The median age of those children was 8 and a half years old. So they're not eligible for vaccines at this point. And so having a vaccination rate is fine, but there are these pockets of people who are not vaccinated who we have to take...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Public Health Act provides detailed guidance on the powers of the Chief Public Health Officer. And it is her role to evaluate risks. She has disclosed the documents that she uses. One particular one is from Johns Hopkins University. Another is from the National Chief Public Health Officers Committee that meets fairly regularly that she uses to consider what the risks are.

She is instructed in the legislation to balance the risks with personal freedoms, that the measures that she recommends need to be commensurate to the risk and not to necessarily...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's standard for the department, the Health Authority, and the Secretariat to do a debrief after an outbreak is over.

The outbreak at MJ McPherson is not yet over. But when it is, those three entities will meet and will go over what they've learned and what they could do differently next time. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the COVID Secretariat has a small communication staff that provides material to do with the public health orders. And on the other side, the NTHSSA provides communications and materials on the operational side of things, like testing and vaccinations. Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm always glad to hear that people have taken advantage of the treatment options that the department provides and that they have been successful. That is obviously great news for them and great news for the community as well.

We don't have an aftercare strategy, per se, but recently, we asked community governments to apply for peer support funding which would enable them to design their own program to assist people to maintain their sobriety.

So I hope that your community has applied for that money and that they will be able to provide that specific approach...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that the CPHO is working on a travel exemption which would provide access to the Yukon that would be not time limited. I'm not aware of any work being done on a timelimited option. Thank you.