Sandy Lee

I’m not sure if it’s something that we could be speaking about here, but I’ll be happy to get the Member details privately.

Yes, I have. We have had the CFSA recommendations since October. My department and I went through the report, we reviewed them and we came up with every possible way of implementing as many recommendations as possible. There are some items that are big ticket items and we needed to put that into the next business cycle.

Having said that, I understand that the Members would like us to relook at it. I think it’s really important for all the Members here to have the full information about what re-profiling means, a $12 million item. My department is working right now to give the information to all...

It will be in the context of working with the recommendations from the Joint Working Group report, which is out there in the public. So we are responding to the direction from the Legislature by way of that committee report. Thank you.

I don’t believe there is a clear rule that says you can’t, but the authorities are block funded with guidelines on what the money is supposed to be spent on. There is room for flexibility as long as we make the case for it and go back to FMB.

We do that already, Mr. Speaker. For example, we have been working very closely with the Gwich’in Tribal Council as well as the IRC. We have given them funding and we are working in partnership on addictions and after-care issues. We are looking at some projects in that area to come up with on-the-ground addiction programs.

I realize that we have eight regions and many, many Aboriginal governments. I could list some of the projects that we are working on, but I just want to let the Member know that we do a lot of work in partnership with Aboriginal organizations and Aboriginal governments...

Mr. Chairman, on this issue, I am following the process that we have set for ourselves within this Legislature. As the Member knows, we had a Joint Working Group on this issue, released a report last fall. The department had a chance to review those and to work on them. We are consulting with the standing committee as we are expected to do. We have received feedback on that and the next stage is for the Cabinet to look at it, and that would include a communication strategy as well as making sure that our public is informed of what we are proposing or what the recommendations were coming out of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As a Member of FMB as well as Minister of Health and Social Services, I need to say that nobody is getting in the way of making decisions about this sort of thing. We know, Mr. Chairman, that health care costs in the budget is the largest item in the government’s budget. We work hard to be efficient and use our resources wisely and as FMB we have given directions to authorities and departments to make sure that the money is spent for what it’s meant to do. That balances with the need for our system to respond. So I work with the Joint Leadership Council, the chairs of...

That is part of our daily business, to manage our medical travel budget wisely. As the Member is aware, medical travel is under review from a couple of points of view, but from a daily arrangement for our residents who need to go to Edmonton, they are booked for the services they need. It is true since they’re having less flights and less direct flights and less turn-around between Yellowknife and Edmonton, we have seen the costs go up, but we have to do what we have to do for our residents. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As the Member knows, this is under discussion at committee level and I need to get back to Cabinet for further direction and then dissemination of the information to the public. But as the Member knows, following the two or three-year debate we have had on what was then known as Supplementary Health Benefits Policy, which has now been rescinded and that policy allowed for extension of coverage to what we know as the working poor, but with the rescinding of the policy we are basically back to status quo, subject to some of the changes we are making or we are suggesting...

Mr. Chairman, it is reflected in the budget to a certain extent. We have improved in our medical travel component of Stanton Territorial Health Authority, for example. This year’s deficit is less than last year’s. It is reflected. I need to get the DM to give a little bit more detail on how our deficit picture has changed as a system. Thank you.