Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 572-19(2): Elder Abuse." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The focus on food security is really a whole-of-government approach with several different departments contributing solutions to how to create and grow more food in the North, whether that's gardens, eggs, meat, whatever. The objective of the round table the Member referenced, which was at the end of January, was to bring together people from the Northwest Territories with people who are working on food security solutions in other jurisdictions that are rural and remote and Indigenous like ours. It's my understanding that these 80 delegates who attended had a very good conversation about this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have read the report card, I have met with Alternatives North, and I am very appreciative of the effort that they put into the first ever report card. The government is not planning to provide a response to the report card. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to take this question on notice because I have no information with me with which to answer these questions. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 499-19(2): Healthcare Services to Seniors During the Pandemic;" "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 512-19(2): COVID-19 Effect on Teachers Being Able to Travel;" "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 546-19(2): Diabetes Program in Small Communities;" and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 561-19(2): Wastewater Testing." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just to clarify the timing here, the first hospital day was May 26, 2019, and the sterilization equipment functioned without any issues until July 23, 2020. That was the point at which they discovered that there were wet packs that were wet and material that was stained. What we do know is that Stanton has spent approximately $50,000 to date for equipment testing and consultant expertise. As a matter of fact, it could have been more but for the fact that the sterilizer manufacturer has been providing extensive support throughout this time, much of which has been provided at no cost. It's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Stanton sterilization issue is actually two issues. The first is wet packs, and the other is mineral staining. I am going to talk about each one. Wet packs: once ideal humidity levels were achieved and sustained, the wet pack issue was resolved at Stanton, and that happened in the fall of 2020. As the Member said in his statement, the importance of this is that, if the instruments are not dry, they can attract bacteria, which would then lead to infection. This issue has been resolved.

Mineral staining is another issue, and it continues. The root cause is not yet...

I can have that conversation.

Generally, Ulukhaktok has two dental visits a year, so at this point, they would have missed two. My hope is that that's all they are going to miss. There will be two more dental visits in the next fiscal year. I want to just correct the perception that it's only big communities with dental services. The Fort Providence health centre, the Fort Simpson Health Centre, the Fort Resolution Health Centre, the Norman Wells health centre, and the Aklavik Health Centre have all had dental visits within the last two months. Thank you.

At the Department of Health and Social Services, we really prioritize the safety of our patients. Where facilities were not meeting infection control and ventilation requirements, work could not be done in those facilities. This is not a long-term ban on dental services in these communities, but it's my understanding that teams are now working through potential solutions. The Member has mentioned a couple of potential solutions and maybe they are solutions, but nothing is going to happen with putting portable buildings into Ulukhaktok at this time of year. What is going to happen is that there...