Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 11-18(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Reports, be received and adopted by the Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently, the Minister spoke of new on-the-land healing programs that would address some of this backlog by providing more local options. There is around $5 million from the federal government to support this. This government itself has been budgeting $1.23 million for several years now.

With the eight contribution agreements that have been signed that the Minister spoke of recently in the House, how many real, actual programs that people can access to get these kind of services and avoid wait lists has this money created? Thank you.

You know, a non-urgent issue can become an urgent if it is not addressed. Waiting eight months, I think it is a pretty significant wait time for people who are looking for that kind of care. The Minister mentioned urgent or critical cases. Can he share the policy that governs a critical or urgent case?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to recognize a page, Ashley Sisson-Carlson from Kam Lake, and all the pages who have been helping us for our sitting. Thank you very much for the work that you do. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that, and I do support this kind of -- this, the Wellness Court, the DVTO Court, they are all very worthwhile alternative methods of supporting people in the system. I don't want to give the impression that I don't support the program, but what I am getting at is that I agree with you. I would like to see us take this out of the pilot and move forward. It sounds like we are in that trajectory, so that is a good thing. That is all I have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I appreciate that. Are we going to keep piloting this, I guess? I mean, this budget is obviously continuing to pilot it, but are we going to see an expansion? When do we get out of the pilot phase? Can the Minister shed any light on that? Because once it's five or six or seven pilots, it's not a pilot anymore, it's an appropriation for a program. So, again, if we could have clarity on the future of the ICM program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister confirm that the Integrated Case Management Pilot started in 2017 and will run until 2020? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, I seconded by the honourable Member for the Sahtu, that Committee Report 11-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 NWT Human Rights Commission Annual Reports, be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In the event that there is someone who is on the edge and is put on one of those queues, but feels that they need the treatment, and they seek, under their own initiative, to go and obtain treatment, does the government have any policies to assist those people with any financial costs incurred if their case would have fallen under the healthcare and they simply could not wait in the queue any longer?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, constituents and other members of the public have brought to me their concerns around wait times of six to 12 weeks to access mental health services, far greater than the government's own estimate of two to three weeks. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services respond to these concerns today with an updated and current estimate of the approximate wait times to access mental health care services in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.