Robert Bouchard

Total department, not previously authorized, $125,000.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Airports, not previously authorized, $650,000.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses into the House?

Anyone else for general comments? On the details. Sorry. Office of the Clerk, not previously authorized, $275,000.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Lovely.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses in?

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Is committee agreed that there are no further general comments?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister indicated, a person could come off those medications really quickly and the money could be obtained quickly.

Can I get commitment from the Minister that his department will look into doing bariatric surgery sooner than later and helping these people in the North that are heavy, heavy people that are way overweight? I’m not talking about somebody that’s 20 or 30 pounds, I’m talking about somebody that’s 100, 150, 200 pounds, like I was.

Along those lines, the department has indicated to me that it is insurable if it’s medically necessary. Can the Minister explain to me what is medical necessity? Does it matter if you’re 50 pounds overweight, 100 pounds overweight, 200 pounds overweight? When does it become a medical necessity to lose this weight?

At that cost of $800 to $1,000 a month, which I was costing the GNWT every month, I have since then been able to get off of insulin, I haven’t eliminated Metformin yet, I have gotten rid of water pills, and because I am on Metformin still, I need a blood pressure pill. Most of those costs are gone, Mr. Speaker. So the costs associated that are saved could be put towards bariatric surgery. That would be repaid within a year to two years, depending on the types of medications an individual is on.

I will have questions for the Minister of Health today to convince him and the department that this...