Kate Reid

Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I also have questions for the Minister of Finance. She used to be known as the Minister of Red Tape Production; I don't know if that's still the case.

I know and she knows, and I think this whole government and this whole House knows, that NGO pockets are not deep. You have to often include liquor sales at events and going and getting a liquor license as a one-off for NGOs that may not do events with liquor sales regularly is a complex process.

I've brought this forward to the Minister in the past, and she's told me they're working on it. So I'm wondering if the Minister can...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for continuing that good work.

Mr. Speaker, in 2022, the Yukon government worked through regulatory changes to their health care insurance plan act that allowed them to provide expanded care to private clinics for gender Yukoners -- Yukonits? Can the Minister tell me if her staff, or the health sustainability unit staff, are able to provide insights and an analysis as to whether gender affirming services that are in line with the Yukon's services could be considered core and/or insured services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think it's a very quick clarification question. This would be around the national strategy for drugs for rare diseases initiative with Canada. It's fully offset by Canada. My question to the Minister is whether or not this funding will help pay for folks who might have been fully addressed by our previous extended health care benefits on the schedule of specified disease list. If she has that amount of detail, I'd love to know. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that commitment from the Minister.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me what steps are taken to fill empty spots that exist for same-day appointments with waitlisted patients, especially those with urgent and complex needs, such as elders and those with disabilities; and, if this isn't a thing, is there any contemplation of closing that gap. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, echoing my colleagues yesterday and, once more, I'd like to talk about same-day health services, including lab services, in Yellowknife. Far and away the most concerns I hear as an MLA are about trying to get same-day appointments, either for lab or for speaking with a health professional. There are a lot of threads to pull on with this persistent problem, and I have gone back and forth with the Minister many times as she and her staff continue to work through technical and procedural barriers to ensure fair and equitable access to health care for the...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Nothing further.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister. I know she's working on a communication strategy of how to explain that to the public better.

Mr. Speaker, will we see reasonable accommodations to make sure that folks aren't standing outside in the cold for a same-day appointment this winter? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when I asked about same-day services this past March, I learned that there are 24 same-day appointments between the two Yellowknife clinics Monday to Friday and approximately 18 on Saturdays. Can the Minister clarify if that is for clinic appointments only or if those numbers include lab appointments, if those numbers are still accurate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, and I can appreciate that perhaps that's just a random ask, but I guess the point behind my question is it's not an insignificant amount of money. Obviously, our residents need to have out of territory services; obviously, we budget for that. Perhaps a better question would be, does the department have substantiation or trends that they're noticing in terms of increases in this regard? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm really glad to hear the Minister spoke with the Indigenous patient advocates and had a good half day session. That's really positive to hear. And that she's taken the time to review the report herself. Can the Minister tell me if there are any actions in the report that she sees that are not going to be implemented and, if so, why? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.