Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am interested in working with Hay River, as I have indicated this in the past as well, to provide them the sufficient comfort where they would be prepared firstly to entertain the alternatives that are out there to have birthing in Hay River. That being the use of midwifery to tie into a birthing team that would be there with midwives, nurses and doctors that would deal with what are characterized or determined to be normal births, which would probably be about half or more of the babies born in Hay River. We’re fully prepared to look at getting the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this work has been done and they're in the final report writing stages. I've been informed, since I queried them on the status, that we should have the report by the end of this month, and we'll be able to see what the recommendations are and share those with the community and with the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the escort provision of the service we provide is geared around a medical determination of whether an escort is required. As the Member indicated, that assessment is made by the doctor, the nurse, or the nurse practitioner who is with the patient. We are working constantly with the authorities and with the various facilities and the staff to make them aware that there is some flexibility required; that a medical escort may include being able to make sure, for example, that there’s adequate interpretation services, or that if the person may not be very...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we’re in close contact, especially through the deputy and the other officials in the department with Hay River, working with them and human resources trying to recruit doctors for Hay River. This is not an unusual circumstance, unfortunately. Other communities have still, at this point, the benefit of some doctors, though not enough that are permanent or there for awhile.

In terms of why this is the case, I think a lot of it just pertains that there’s a national shortage and there’s some circumstances, obviously, in Hay River where individual doctors have...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the Member's correct; this issue has been raised before, and I've just had discussion in the department. But of great importance to us is looking at the system and the exceptions that happen that cause concerns to be raised, or MLAs to be approached so that they have to come either to myself or to the deputy to resolve issues, and we're trying to eliminate those. So as I indicated to the Member from Nunakput, we're constantly trying to improve the service. We know that this is a very critical time in person's lives, when they're on their way for medical...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the O and M requirements will go ahead concurrently with the capital project. It will be identified in the business plans and the budget for that year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in my opinion, we will be able to provide the same level of service that the calibre of staff that work on the floor with the kids is available in Hay River. It is available now in Fort Smith and Inuvik. We also invest in training northerners. Yellowknife is not the only jurisdiction or community that has the capacity to look after children; children, many of which, don't come from Yellowknife. The quality of education in Hay River, I would suggest, is as good as it is in Yellowknife. The access to specialist services is the one difference, and it's about...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we bring in locum nurses on an as-required basis with the various authorities in the different facilities. I can indicate to the Member that the largest amount or use of locum nurses is in the Inuvik region, followed by the Sahtu. We do pay a very stiff premium. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the issue that the Member raises is a very good one; well, it’s not a good one, but it’s a very difficult, complex issue. What we have had working together is the social envelope Ministers, which are Housing; Education, Culture and Employment; Health and Social Services; Justice; and Municipal and Community Affairs. We’ve put in a supplementary appropriation for this winter to deal with the issue of those folks over the course of the winter that have no place to stay periodically. I recognize that the hard to house is an ongoing problem and it is with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very clearly we are of the strong opinion that the numbers indicate that we have a problem we have to address very, very quickly and carefully. All the boards up and down the valley have accepted that information. There is some question and some people that would like to have the numbers redone, and we'd like to confirm them, as well, just to make sure that our numbers are accurate. So there is a problem, and I can assure the Member that we are going to move on this. We've been working on it now for many months to come up with the interim measures plus...