Michael Nadli

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have one question. Further down the line I’ll probably have more. Before I lose my thought on it, I wanted to ask in terms of the Land Use Framework. I know the Minister had stated that it could be, in some respects, used as a guide for policy guidelines in terms of how the government operates, especially in terms of trying to work cooperatively with the regions that are developing land use plans. I just wanted to understand how it is that this could be helpful in terms of trying to at least…(inaudible)…regions to ensure that there is common ground in trying to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to understand just what level of coordination and leadership this department is undertaking. Can the Minister advise when he and his colleagues will be able to bring forward a proposal for expanded ground ambulance services for consideration by standing committees in this House? Mahsi.

I would like to thank the Minister for that. As you know, travelling on the highway, you don’t have it full of neighbours along this. Usually you are alone travelling at your own risk. Could the Minister provide an update on the work MACA is doing in cooperation with Health and Social Services and Transportation on ground ambulance and highway fire emergency services and also in developing a policy legislative framework? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I asked questions to the Minister in terms of the ambulance service. I would like to talk about highway emergency services today.

Many residents of the Northwest Territories and visitors to our territory probably assume if they were to have an accident on one of our highways, there are ambulances and trained emergency service providers who would come to their rescue. They would be surprised to learn how thinly our emergency services are stretched. The issue is one of gaps and policies, legislation and coordination. We do not have a clear framework for emergency...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, would like to commend the department for being recognized as the top 100 employers, here in the Northwest Territories. That is quite the achievement.

I understand that staff or human resources is just one part of a system of the organization of the GNWT that we operate. I think staff and the workforce play a key role in the sole machine that operates here in the North.

I have a couple of comments. I would like to focus on a few specific questions. For the most part, in my mind, in terms of decentralization, in terms of seeing some of the shift from headquarters...

Thank you. Lacking an ambulance in most small communities, what emergency measures do the health centres have in responding to heart and stroke situations? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I raised a question in terms of heart and stroke, and it being Heart Month, so my question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services. What is the department’s approach, in terms of addressing the heart and stroke disease, from diagnosis to treatment? Mahsi.

Has there been discussion? I know right now we’re under fiscal restraint in terms of ensuring we control our revenues, but at the same time we control our expenditures. We’re trying to do more with less, so we’re at such a point it will probably make it necessary for us to cooperate and work together. There's more than likely cross-departmental initiatives to try to advance some major initiatives and do it so that it’s effective but at the same time it’s strategic.

One of the key things that I mentioned is just trying to ensure that we have a fairly reflective ratio of First Nation or northern...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is just in terms of the long-term horizon. I know it’s probably improbable for every community to have an ambulance, but is it within the department’s plan, in terms of long-term objectives and goals, to ensure that at least, at the very minimum, communities such as Fort Providence would have an ambulance?

Thank you. I know one of the priorities of the 17th Assembly was to try to take some preventative steps in terms of trying to address the health and social issues. So my question to the Minister is: What are some of the preventative measures that are in place to try to curb? He’s indicated that heart disease and other afflictions are cost-drivers. What are some of the measures in place to try to curb the rates of heart and stroke disease in the North? Mahsi.