Tom Beaulieu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the coordination of that framework activity does look at physical activity, mental wellness, exercise and healthy eating, all of the various areas. We work with the Department of Education in trying to promote healthy foods in the schools, we have Drop the Pop and so on. So those are some of the activities that I can run through quickly. In general, what we’re asking people, as we discuss, is to eat healthy, exercise, drink responsibly and don’t smoke. Thank you.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services leads a Healthy Choices Framework, since 2003-04 approximately, when those stats came out. It’s a partnership between ourselves, Education, MACA, Department of Justice and Department of Transportation, and it is to coordinate several of the GNWT’s programs and services related to health, safety and active living. Thank you.

As the Members know, and I’ve been saying, we are working on revising medical travel or trying to make medical travel a better program that addresses the issues and needs of the people of the Northwest Territories. I do believe the review is complete. It’s a matter now of putting together what information we have in order to revise medical travel to make medical travel better. I’m only recalling this because I have the information here but no time to pull it out for that specific question. I believe the review is done and that we are now moving to areas that need to be addressed. We know there...

In extreme circumstances, working between the Department of Health and Social Services, the health and social services authorities, RCMP, military, they may elect to use one of those modes to rescue, to assist people who are injured, but these are made strictly on a case-by-case basis by the parties involved. During the time there is an incident and the key people are brought together, the call is made on a case-by-case basis and not within the policy. It’s on a case-by-case basis.

Thank you. I think that is something that we can certainly discuss with the Department of Education, but in this framework, MACA has afterschool physical activity programs. They work with the NWT Recreation and Parks Association for making people active. They have the youth sports events, programs, and they have the High Performance Athlete Grant. So all of those, trying to introduce activity into the schools and working within this Healthy Choices Framework. A lot of the activity responsibilities have been given to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Chairman, the timeline for us responding to the forum’s report is we’re going to try to do a roll-up of their recommendations in April, and then during the May-June sitting of this Legislative Assembly, we are hoping to be able to present, and that’s again targeted to do it at that time to present the recommendations and how we see those recommendations fitting into our Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan and moving forward to address those issues that are identified by that forum.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my right is Debbie DeLancey, deputy minister of Health and Social Services. To my left is director of finance, Jeannie Mathison, Health and Social Services.

We are on track to submitting a legislative proposal to amend the act in this fiscal year as a result of that 2011 review. One of the key amendments in the act is to remove some of the barriers that the communities had encountered in the development of child and family services committees.

The department has provided training to the workers but we’re looking for the specifics of that training, or we can also provide, I suppose we can provide that. We can continue to look for it and then provide the information further on down or provide it in writing, one way or the other. But the department has done some training with the social workers.

I’ll have the deputy provide the detailed response.