Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the reason why we do not have a patient portal -- and it speaks to this in the report -- is that our electronic health record is -- as we've said many times, as I've said many times in this House, that it's not -- it's old. It can't do any new things, new shiny things. And so we need a new shiny thing so that we can get a patient portal. And that is what we're working towards, and we're hoping to be able to have this RFP released soon. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as that report has just publicly been released, I had a high-level look at it and, yes, into the recommendations. And what I can say at this point is that a lot of the recommendations, this government -- this was a new -- when it was introduced, it was the first time, and then there was a 10-year review. What we've learned over the years has been highlighted in this report. You know, as we tried to work as one government, there are many -- when we look at integrated case management, there becomes areas of that area when we're trying to do statistics. You...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Finance said yesterday, very, very wonderfully in her statement, about we only have so many people doing so many jobs and so we have a lot of things going on in the department right now, and a lot of that work was to do with budget negotiations and the ongoing work and as well as these -- all of the questions that come in from all of the Members, as soon as my office receives those answers, I will be forwarding them on. When my office receives answers from the department or from NTHSSA or from TCSA or from Hay River, they are vetted...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services and the NTHSSA and the TCSA and the Hay River health and social services, there's probably 2,000 employees, and if I ask my department to give me the stats every single day, every single sitting, you know -- so what we do is I have monthly stats. And I did provide those monthly stats in written statements. What I can do is I can go back to the department, and I can send an email to the Member with what the current or what was in the written questions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, International Women's Day, we honour the strength, courage, and spirit of women everywhere. As an Indigenous woman, and as many Indigenous women, we grew up learning that we are the strongest when we help each other. Our elders teach us when we give our time, our support, and our kindness, we gain something important in return.

This year's theme, Give to Gain, is a reminder of that lesson. To the young women and the girls across the Northwest Territories, you matter. You carry the strength of your families, your ancestors. You carry languages, stories, traditions, that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since I've become the Minister, and somebody who's worked in the health system for many, many years, yes, when people access health care and the confidentiality of their health records is probably one of the most important documents that we need to ensure that we can show public trust, that this kind of a document within our hands is protected. That means protected to be utilized for the purposes that it's intended to. And when people in our system breach that trust, that creates -- and, you know, it creates a distrust in our whole system, and it could...

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, there are many things. They also ask for a three-year full cost breakdown. That would have to go back to our finance people that are working currently on a lot of other things for this sitting. And so as those things -- they are -- you know, we prioritize them as they come in. And so all of the pieces of the questions might not be to the same person. So as we get the answers to my office, I will respond to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the department staff get back to me, then I will be able to respond. I know that my office did let the Member know that they're going to -- we responded to the initial questions and then came back with a whole another list of questions, so those went back. And so as soon as my office receives them, then we will send them on to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I stated, I don't have that type of information in the House here. So I know that I responded in writing to a written question with the most recent updates. I'd have to go back to the department and find out what those current numbers are. As I mentioned in responding to this question the other day is that those rates fluctuate weekly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have the exact details, but I do believe the legislation says that it has to be a dentist, so thank you, Mr. Speaker.