Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services. I want to follow up on my statement. I mentioned a number of statistics in my statement and I want to provide a few more.

Diabetes prevalence rates among Aboriginal populations are at least three times higher than the general population. Aboriginal populations face higher risks for prediabetes and obesity, and Aboriginal women are particularly vulnerable to diabetes. They have four times the rate of non-Aboriginal women. They also have a higher risk for gestational diabetes.

I spoke to the cost of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple other questions on this page. One has to do with – and it was briefly mentioned I think when either the Minister or the DM talked about governance and change – there has been talk about centralizing the administration of the authorities. I didn’t quite understand where things were at with regard to that centralization of the administration for authorities. I gather it’s in the works. When might we expect that is going to be finalized? Is that another four- or five-year project?

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Next is Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we continue to consider the budget for the Health department today, I want to talk about a health-related issue.

The NWT has a number of chronic diseases which plague our territory. One of them is diabetes. The rates of diabetes in NWT residents are markedly higher than in the rest of Canada. More than one in four residents in the NWT lives with either diabetes or prediabetes. Prediabetes is a condition which, if left unchecked, puts you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Statistics also indicate that, on the whole, NWT residents are overweight compared to the...

Next on my list is Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. And you’re referencing $15.588 million? Mr. Hawkins.

Madam Chair, I didn’t hear an answer to the customer service issue there, but I’ll just leave it at that. It was a comment.

I did want to ask the department about another change which apparently is in the works and it has to do with recruitment of physicians. There has been some talk about the development of a physicians pool to try and deal with the absence of physicians in some communities; Hay River, for instance.

I’d like to ask the department with regard to this change in our system to go to a physicians pool. Is that something which is still in the works? When can we expect to see that...

Thank you, Ms. Mathison. Mr. Hawkins.