Katrina Nokleby

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, apparently, I jumped the gun when I recognized my page the other day; she wasn't here. So I would like to recognize Carys Lyall who is a page from Great Slave riding. And as I said, I really enjoy having the pages here and thank them all. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, I would like to request unanimous consent to return to recognition of visitors in the gallery. Thank you

Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. I would like to recognize the crew of 62 Degrees North, a medic company here in Yellowknife, that was instrumental to helping us during the pandemic, including the production of hand sanitizer locally. So we have Matt Vincent who is the president and CEO. And with him we have Cody Earl, Brian Johnson, Kim Bailey, Sebastian Rapid, and Alex Purcell. So welcome to the gallery, I hope you enjoyed it today...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm hoping that the Minister will provide me with that information, and I'll take that as a commitment.

Can the Minister explain how the situation of multigenerational living arrangements are going to be taken into account? Often, you know, we've seen in the past where a grandmother is helping out children, and they come to live with her, and then she is penalized for having that additional income in the House even though there is no overall rise to the amount of money she has herself; can the Minister speak to that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this speaks a lot to how women's health is treated in our medical profession and healthcare system. If it were men that wanted to get pregnant and they couldn't, I'm sure we would have found a cure for it a long time ago, so. I would like to ask that the Minister work with her counterpart, the Minister responsible for Human Resources, and look to at least adding this to GNWT benefits going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would ask that the Minister maybe share that with me. I've missed it somewhere in my research.

The Minister's alluded to it a bit, but what other options and ideas has Health and Social Services explored to help our residents on their fertility journey; can she elaborate a bit on what work has been done so far? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker I'd also like to recognize the page from Great Slave, Carys Lyall, who is here. One of my favorite things about being a Member is to have the pages here and getting to interact with them. So I'd like to say welcome to them all. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, October 31st, 2022, I will move the following motion:

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Tabled Document 69419(2): Northwest Territories Coroner Service 20212022 Early Release of Suicide Data and Minister's Statement 26419(2): Response to the NWT Chief Coroner's Report on Suicide, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I guess I struggle to understand how we can spend money and support people to learn why they're not getting pregnant but then not help them to get pregnant after the fact when we talk about growing our population. So can the Minister speak to whether or not she would look at changing the medical travel benefits to include those that are seeking fertility in the south? As I mentioned in my statement, a small investment here could lead to further babies being born in the Northwest Territories and future cotransfer payments from the federal government. Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Will the Minister commit to completing a jurisdictional scan to learn what other Canadian provinces and territories are doing to support their residents with infertility and report back on it to this House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one in six couples struggle with fertility. Approximately 10 percent of the female population has polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, which routinely leads to infertility. For many, medication can make a difference but for others it doesn’t work, or they face other fertility issues and complications.

Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories, it can take eight months just to get an initial appointment with a fertility specialist. The GNWT does provide services to treat underlying medical conditions that may cause infertility. However, when it comes to in...