Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about some health care innovation and certainly some opportunities that will save this government and our territory a lot of real -- some real tangible dollars, Mr. Speaker. It's about service improvement.
Mr. Speaker, using round numbers -- because I like them, they flow a little better -- years ago, I think in my first term way back in the days of yore, someone did an inquiry about how many healthcare cards that were out there, and they found that there were about 45,000. Again, using round numbers. However, our bureau of stats pointed out there's only 42,000 people in the NWT. Mysterious? I don't know.
Mr. Speaker, the idea of trying to be innovative and thoughtful, why don't we follow BC's example where they actually have their health care card with a photo on the card, Mr. Speaker. And they've even integrated driver's license to have the health care number, Mr. Speaker. It's showing a way to reduce red tape, save some costs, and when it comes to health care dollars, ensure Northerners who rightly deserve health care, it's protected and served to Northerners, not people cheating the system, Mr. Speaker. If we did an audit today on how many healthcare cards we have or who's getting service, I don't know what it would do. But the statement isn't about that, Mr. Speaker. The statement is about how can we guarantee Northerners are paying for northern health care.
Mr. Speaker, we could do this, Mr. Speaker. It'll create efficiency within the system. I mentioned red tape, accessibility, security. It would help save costs overall. Mr. Speaker, this is something that could be done, whether it's in Lutselk'e or YK; we could do this. People fill passports out in any region of Canada. In other words, there's ways to do these things. We could take that example.
Now, let's start with this: Maybe you're not old enough to drive a car or maybe a driver's license isn't your thing. That's okay too. Mr. Speaker, you could get a general ID card. Again, back to the process used for passports for young people. It makes sense, Mr. Speaker. And we can develop it very simple. So, Mr. Speaker, I understand this government's apprehension to lead on initiatives. But I would say BC is certainly leading through legislation, opportunity, protection of their healthcare cards, and protections of their citizens public dollars. How key and important is this. So I say to this government if you're afraid to lead, I accept that, but don't be afraid to follow a fantastic example that will help all Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements.
