Sandy Lee

...(inaudible)...busy schedule, but we would like at least an hour or two to give you a briefing on what we have so far and seek your input. Thank you.

Thank you. Beyond that I would just like to add that we have had a situation of not having a written contract between Stanton and Nunavut and it was important for us to make sure that we conclude that so that we settle the outstanding receivables and we have made some gains on that. So that’s why it was important that we conclude this and any newer issues that we need to be bringing to this we will deal with that in the next phase.

Also, I think it’s important to note that while Stanton has been experiencing a deficit, it is not correct to think that this is contributing to the deficit to the...

As the deputy minister stated, we have a portability provision. All the provinces and territories know that our people travel to each other’s jurisdictions and they have a pretty clear guideline on paying for that. So as long as we bill other jurisdictions, those are paid. Now, obviously we want to make sure we bill for every service we render to anybody who is not from here. Every health centre has that function incorporated into their finance office. That is a course of business. In Inuvik the hospital does that, Stanton does that, and any of the clinics, and the headquarters, through the DM...

Mr. Chairman, the agreement that has been agreed to has been worked on for quite a while. That contract is closed, basically. The negotiation has been going on and that is done. As the deputy minister had indicated, there are some other things that we want to be able to prove, but that would involve larger discussions between not only the DMs but myself with the Nunavut government. This contract that we are finishing off is basically dealing with a situation where there had not been any solid agreement before and we are closing that part of our relationship with Nunavut. So we will have to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Member is right; this section has a sunset of THAF of $3.1 million, but it also has investments of $10.82 million that goes to various areas that constitutes the biggest amount of the plus and minus of that item. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If I may, I would like to ask the deputy minister to give some information on where we are with physician recruitment in our authorities, especially in light of the new Collective Agreement and as well as the work that the deputy minister has been doing with the medical forum on this issue. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. I can say we have qualified people running this. I will make a commitment to give him more information on how the services are delivered, where they are, what they are being used for and how the training needs are met. Thank you.

Yes, please, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, as we indicated before, this is relatively new and it is being used in different ways by different authorities. It all depends on the service requirements, the interest even on the part of the people on the ground. I have visited different centres where, for Inuvik for example, they couldn’t say enough about this machine and how much it has helped them. The picture is quite buried all across. It is like any time you introduce a new technology into your service delivery, the uptake and the use is different depending on the regions and the places. I don’t have updated information...

Mr. Speaker, the health of our Northerners begins with each individual choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. An essential part of one’s lifestyle is deciding to make healthy food and beverages a part of everyday life.

The Drop the Pop challenge, now in its fifth year, is a positive way for the Department of Health and Social Services to encourage healthy choices and to raise awareness about the negative effects of too much sugar in one’s diet. Since the inception of the campaign in 2004, we have increased school participation from 13 schools to 40 schools registered this year. I would encourage...