Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know we have a lot of things going on in our life and -- anybody, you know, and I'll be the first to say I do not like needles, and I would try and make any reason why I don't want to get a needle. But I always make a priority to get my flu shot ever since I was young. You know, but I think the thing is is that the reason why -- and I'm going back to my public health days -- is that vaccines are -- yes, some areas, they may have released public clinics in certain areas. There were public -- you know, we start in the high-risk areas. When we look at releasing flu...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this time, this is not work that we are doing within the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I don't want to go into too much detail but I had this -- or there's been -- there's a BF on this with the Member and the answer -- you know, there are surgeries that happen and insured services -- the insured services parts were billed. There are parts of the surgeries that are not considered as insured services and therefore those pieces get billed to the patient. And that stands. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the strategic framework is currently being developed, as I mentioned yesterday. The -- developed to provide clear direction and performance benchmarks for this initiative and will be expected to be completed in 2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we're all aware, health is every day of our life there's somebody that needs to access it. So as we are transforming through this, every person in the Northwest Territories has access to care, you know, whether it's through the walk-in clinics, whether it's through 811, whether it's through our emergency departments, when you get out to the small community there are the health centres and the regional centres, we have the emergency departments. You know, everybody has access to care. As through this transformation, this is work that is going to be...

Mr. Speaker, to answer the Member's question, there have been systemic barriers in the health and social services system preventing Indigenous people from accessing the primary and community health care services they need. This results in disparity in health and wellness outcomes. These services could be delivered through team-based models of care that are responsive to their values and priorities. Therefore, a vision has been established, in collaboration with Indigenous communities, to address these disparities and focus on equity. And the department is committed to realizing this vision...

As this work is ongoing, Mr. Speaker, I can ensure that, you know -- that we, and I -- and I think any Member in this House -- do want to take health and safety of any of our public service very seriously. And so with this work that's going on, I don't have the exact details of when these things will happen but as I get more information from that, I can provide that in writing to Members as they wish and to the Member that's asking. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, almost 30 percent of residents in the Northwest Territories over the age of 15 consider themselves as smokers. Smoking, which includes vaping, remains one of the worst substances for your overall health and can significantly reduce a person's life expectancy. That is why the Government of the Northwest Territories continues to find new ways to support residents in making the shift towards a smoke-free life.

Mr. Speaker, smoking is an addiction that often requires several attempts and a combination of tools and supports to overcome. We recognize that quitting is not easy, especially...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as this is ongoing work that's happening and reviewing the model of health care centres and many of these things, these things are going to take time. I understand that the hospital is gridlocked. We're holding patients here because there's gridlocks even in the south happening. So this is something that is affecting us all across the system. So what we're doing is we're working diligently. You know, we've opened up more beds in the Liwego'ati Building and therefore those patients that need to go into -- you know, in long-term care, we're getting more...

Yes, Mr. Speaker.