Sandy Lee

The Member is right; I am aware of the situation where the patients waiting were bumped off, but I was not aware that there are only two seats assigned. I was not aware that there were seat assignment situations. By and large we do move a lot of our residents around to receive the care that they need and obviously we can always do better, so I will undertake to review how we deliver that and where we can improve it, we will do that.

I think it’s important for people to know that the NIHB Program is completely separate from extended health benefits. That is a federal program and what happens there would not have a bearing on what happens with extended health benefits. This is our GNWT program. This is extra health benefits that we provide to our residents above and beyond what’s normally considered under the Canada Health Act. We have some of the most generous programs. We cover prescriptions, vision care and dental care for our seniors. We cover 100 percent of specified conditions.

We are not talking about reducing...

I don’t believe we have our stats broken down into that detail, but it is true under our current system that those with employer insurance, whether they work for the government or whatever third-party insurance they have, if they are over 60 they get a top-up. Nobody else would get the top-up. Same for those with chronic conditions. If they have private insurance they will get a top-up. But because our system basically covers 100 percent of it all, they come straight to us.

Yes, I will undertake to do that.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act, be read for the first time.

I have committed to looking at the situation in Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk. We will follow up on that and look at it in light of the overall assisted living programs for seniors that we need to develop as a whole. The Member has to understand, and I think everybody here understands, that we want to keep our elders in their communities and as close as possible, wherever possible. We need to have a plan in place to do that.

Absolutely. Positively, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to having this discussion over the next two or three months. Thank you.

I would like to recognize a long-term resident of Yellowknife and a friend that I went to school with, Laurie McLean. Thank you.

There is no other jurisdiction in Canada where there is not some kind of income testing. In fact, in most jurisdictions they do asset testing. This one, we are saying income as a possibility of determining access, and no matter what your age, your ability to pay should factor in.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, one thing that the Member for Hay River South mentioned earlier is that our previous plan that came out was designed in such a way that if you didn’t make an income threshold, you are dropped off. We’re not suggesting this. This is an idea. We’re saying should there be gradual responsibility for...

The other side of that is the money is voted in this House. We could, as a House, decide that we would provide supplementary health benefits to anybody; we pay for dental, we pay for drugs, we pay for homecare, we pay for anything, just because we want to. Then the Member will just need to pass the budget on that.

That’s not how we do our business here. Supp health benefits programs are very generous in this jurisdiction. We will continue to keep it that way. We have a group of people who are excluded from it and it is very important for us to have a very informed, evidence-based discussion...