Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate collaboration, but we need urgency as well. So, Mr. Speaker, is the Minister willing to bring forward changes to timelines? Will he cut timelines? Will he reduce the amount of time it takes to review these files? Working in collaboration for sure, but setting a new service standard so we can get quicker turnaround on land tenure decisions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, since the Minister of health has declined to hear from my constituents about the struggles they face under broken medical travel policies and her continued refusal to grant meaningful exceptions, I will share their experiences with this House.

Last year, a constituent's health crisis left her critically ill with a serious kidney condition. She was quickly medevaced to Edmonton and intubated, yet denied an escort, forcing her husband to cover flights and a week's of accommodation out-of-pocket while she fought to stabilize. After extensive communication with the Minister of medical...

Nothing further. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. And are we seeing -- do we anticipate that we'll have to increase SFA budgets accordingly going forward to accommodate the increased uptake, or is this something that's somewhat of an anomaly based on trends of the program uptake? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is a large increase. Can the Minister tell us what this funding is inclusive of. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is good news that we'll have a firm date, and I welcome the receipt of that either here or elsewhere.

As it relates to the Grays Bay project on the other end of the corridor, can the Minister give a status update on the Nunavut side of the project as it is crucial, again, to the completion of this, to the best of her ability of course. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've already asked the Minister to deal with this. I've already had that conversation.

Mr. Speaker, I've got another constituent. The mother was sick. Stanton had to fly -- has always had to fly her out with kidney stones but they got so bad and she was told to wait. She went into septic shock and almost died. They refused to get her son to go as an escort. Instead, they had to pay thousands for hotels and accommodations, and medical travel ultimately paid for the days that they would send him down to pick her up and take her home but wouldn't pay for the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am all for efficiencies within the medical travel system, and there are a lot of baseline approval processes that don't have anything to do with medical travel exceptions that are costly, bloated, and inefficient. What we're talking about is people who need help when the system has failed them; they're falling through the cracks. Will the Minister do the right thing and approve the exceptions that are brought forward by our offices, supported by doctors' evidence, supported by the medical system; do the right thing and help these people because they need...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in speaking about medical travel, especially around exemption policies, because we can't have a one-size-fits-all policy obviously but oftentimes concerns are supported by doctors, supported by medical personnel and we're told, time and time again, policy says no. So my question is does the Minister of Health and Social Services have the authority to approve exceptions for medical travel policies, yes or no?

Mr. Speaker, last year Members of this Assembly spoke with a clear, unified voice when we passed a motion calling for compassionate medical evacuation policy to standardized escort support in emergency situations. Yet, despite this call to action, the Minister has still made no plans to support Northerners facing these kinds of medical emergencies. Far too often our constituents are forced to pay out-of-pocket just to be by their loved one's side. Families deserve support in moments of crisis, not confusion, stress, and financial burden. These are exactly the kind of broken policies MLAs are...