Ronald Bonnetrouge

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I presented a motion in this House last June 2022 regarding improving healthcare in small communities. The motion was prompted by numerous complaints made verbally to me or was printed in the media in relation to the many cases of misdiagnosis of Indigenous patients in the small communities.

Mr. Speaker, this is where residents have been into the health centres numerous times for the same ailment, were not diagnosed, or were not diagnosed properly and sent home with Tylenol. And in most cases, it was the fourth or fifth time they were near, or they were in...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the response to the motion, and it's written, is regular audits are undertaken at each health centre. Now, we don't know what the audits include because our concern, as residents, is they're not addressing the root issue of the problems. People are going in there multiple times with the same ailment and they're not being diagnosed properly at the outset. And I've always said if they don't know what is wrong with the patient and he's severely looking like he's in distress, they should be sent to a specialist ASAP. But as, you know, we're Indigenous so they won't...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister commit to prioritizing client satisfaction of Indigenous persons in the audit? And I'll still keep speaking to the audited. Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As it is Indigenous languages month, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the Dene Got'ie translators. Mary Jane Cazon from Fort Simpson and Samuel Gargan from Fort Providence. Mahsi for all the translating that you do for the elders out there. Mahsi.

Thank you. Minister of Housing.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Mahsi to the Minister for that. I don't think it's really getting to the crux of what I'm getting at, is to incorporate the systems into communities. Let's save our housing corporation from destroying the old public housing picture in the Northwest Territories by 2038. Let's try to help to extend that. Let's incorporate solar panels or electric hot water for hot water heating, whatever source we can get, and also incorporate wood pellet boiler systems which, so far, makes sense. They do. I'm telling you. I've done a unit and I've said it so many times. We've done one. When...

Mahsi for that. Yes, you're not generating enough anyways in business and I always mention that we treat housing, in our communities anyways, as a social program because of the fiduciary responsibility of the federal government to First Nations to provide housing. And that's the premise that we go on. I realize that too as a private homeowner, I pay for my own fuel and now the cost has jumped from, you know, 1.90s previously, now it's over $2. I don't know, $2 and something per litre, so that's becoming significant. And it's going to, you know, only increase to your heating fuels. So I'm...

Mahsi, Madam Chair. I'm wondering about your O and M costs. You were talking about it a bit there. There could be a lot in there; I'm not sure what's all entailed in there. I'm just wondering if the O and M costs, if the majority are having to pay utilities versus others. If you could answer that. Mahsi.

Thank you, Minister. Members, do we have any other questions for Members on NWT Housing Corporation Department of Executive? Member for Thebacha.

Thank you, Member. Minister Chinna.