Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a very specified procedure for filing complaints under the Medical Profession Act. Anyone who has a concern with a physician or any other medical practitioner could write… Well, they could first talk to the chief executive officer and the people in their authority. Then there is what’s called a complaints officer under the Medical Profession Act, and the complaints officer would review the complaints. Complaints could go into alternative dispute resolution or any other ways of sorting it out, or the matter could go into a board of inquiry where a board made up...

I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker, I thought the Clerk was going to read it. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Robert Hawkins on March 4, 2010, regarding radiologists contract status.

In 2009 the Diagnostic Imaging Pictures Archiving and Communications System, known as DI/PACS, was implemented in the Northwest Territories. The DI/PACS allows for radiology examinations to be stored and retrieved in a digital format. The DI/PACS also allows for X-ray images to be sent over a secure Internet connection to other health care providers. With the addition of this technology the NWT had an opportunity...

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for the Member to know that I do understand the Member’s concern. We do want to make sure that we have a process in place where our residents who provide service have a concern about their practitioner, that there is a process in place. I am just not able to say anything that would give comfort to her that would in any way talk about an individual who is not before this Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I do commit to her that I will talk to her privately and give her the information that she needs, at least over a short period of time and then we could go from there...

When the motion was passed we had a big debate about whether or not income test is a good option. We should look at things from the blank slate. We did review those. I directed the staff to look at the user profile, look at who’s using it, how much it’s costing, what does it mean, how can we expand the programs to those who are excluded. We looked at all of that, Mr. Speaker, and I know that there are those who choose not to accept some of the information that they received. But the fact of the matter is we have done the research and the research shows that, in terms of income profile of our...

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, the Medical Profession Act does state the process by which a complaint against a practicing physician is conducted. It does try to balance the rights of the client as well as the physician, Mr. Speaker. I’d be happy to give the Member a private briefing on how this works. Once in a while we do get concerns from people about what they are not happy with about what the doctor has done or not, or any other health care professional. There are different phases that this goes through. Sometimes just talking to the local authority resolves the matter. Other times it...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Using income threshold and looking at one’s ability to pay to determine whether you have access to a program or not is used in many places. We have those in lots of government programs, including the seniors’ fuel subsidy. This is a very commonly accepted way of doing it. We’re expanding the program to those on the basis of income, whereas before it was on the basis of age. I believe that this is the right thing to do.

I am aware, Mr. Speaker, that the Member considers himself a student of rules and procedures of the House. I know he knows the rules and procedures of the House. He studies books on the rules and procedures of the House. Mr. Speaker, he knows that I’m not privy to table Cabinet documents, but the Member is also aware that every major information and analysis about this program would go to Cabinet and then it was made available to committees. That’s our regular practice.

Mr. Speaker, if the Member has any other alternatives that he wants us to consider, we would look at that. This has been a...

I am going to do my best to answer questions, but I hope she won’t tell me I’m telling her something she already knows. As I stated already, the supplementary health program right now excludes a segment of the population that needs help from the government. Those are the low income working families who need help and work in jobs that don’t have employer insurance or whatever. It is, I believe, our government’s responsibility to provide assistance for that. I hear from others, cover them anyway, bring extra money, do it by universal health care, just spend the money.

The point is this is not a...

Thank you. Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. We’re talking about health care benefits to make all of the programs and the service benefits available under supplementary health and to provide it without co-payment provided to everybody who lives in the Northwest Territories would make it an insured service. That would make it like any other program under the Canada Health Act and I understand that’s what people want us to do and we have reviewed that and it’s not something we are able to do, because the government has to focus on insured service. Insured services are doctors’ services, nurse services...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, my understanding was that Cabinet documents were not to be made public. I have learned since that this policy was already signed. It is not a paper under discussion in Cabinet, so it was able to be released. Secondly, I’m hearing here, and Members outside, that somehow, I just have to say that, Mr. Speaker, we have been open-minded about this policy. I had this policy in front of me, I wanted to look at whether or not what is being proposed is fair and equitable and we believe that the newest changes that we are suggesting would be generous. It would...