Kieron Testart

Thank you. So in your evaluation of this -- of extended health benefits, are you going to be speaking to beneficiaries who are now paying deductibles or more deductibles and engaging that feedback, I guess? Like, is there a client satisfaction survey that is going into this work, or are we just looking for a dollar by dollar analysis? Thank you.

Thank you. It's not a discrepancy, Mr. Speaker. It's -- I acknowledge the Minister will look into it and I thank her for that. But it's not a discrepancy. It's a regulation that allows to them to do it. So they signed on to the Canada-wide agreement, they're part of it, so will the Minister commit to reviewing the regs and reporting back to this House? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has announced that there are new changes to the Indigenous employment -- or Indigenous recruitment policy -- thank you -- which replaces the affirmative action policy. We're going to be bringing back P1s essentially and allow Indigenous Northerners to have priority status. Before that wasn't possible because of the Constitution. Has the Constitution changed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I guess I'm confused. This seems to be new information. Was there ever a plan that Liwego'ati would not be used or that Stanton Legacy would not be used as part of a health care campus? My understanding is there was always a component of that in the initial RFP that went out for the rebuild was to demo this building for other uses and that was -- so was there some other purpose intended for Stanton Legacy before it became the Liwego'ati Building? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, perception is everything. How we view the world around us determines how we live our lives. Our perception of the challenges and opportunities we face every day informs our actions and thus plays a major role in each situation's outcome. Many Northerners face challenges in which often the last resort they approach the GNWT for solutions. In tough times, there's already a feeling of desperation so the perception that these services are difficult to access can be a serious detriment to whether or not a service actually reaches the person it's intended for.

Unfortunately, the often...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that coming from the Minister. Can the Minister share the engagement schedule with me and any other pertinent details around these consultations with staff. Thank you.

Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just -- I'm trying to get at if we're trying to find more ways to support that -- those incentives because the retention and recruitment numbers are very -- well, the retention numbers are very poor, and even it seems when we recruit nurses, in particular -- because there is a dedicated unit to do that -- they're out the door as soon as we get them in. So if the department isn't considering additional financial incentives, what is its strategy to work on recruitment and retention let's say around nurses working with the health recruitment unit and finance...

Thank you. So is the department -- I don't see anything clearly identified along those lines, but is the department considering additional benefits or labour market supplements to support the recruitment and retention efforts within the health authority? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So the changes here seem to be all related to forced growth. $4 million for ratification of the UNW agreement, $3 million for medical travel funding within NTHSSA. So is that kind of -- etcetera; is that an accurate description of the additional spending under this activity? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, then how has the government derisked this issue? It was unconstitutional before, that was the concern that changed the policy, now the policy remains the same, at least for one class of individuals. Can the Minister explain why that decision was made?