Lesa Semmler

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. We are continuing to work with Alberta in -- there's -- nothing has changed, and I want -- I think that's the thing is right now, within our health care system our referral process is to Alberta. There is no change in that referral service. The -- they are still -- they are still providing the service in Alberta. If -- and I think -- so people are aware, we will continue -- like our department is continuing to work with the Government of Alberta to clarify Alberta's proposed policy and how they may impact residents of the Northwest Territories receiving out-of-territorial...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the NWT residents that healthcare services for transgender individuals, including children and youth, will continue to be available under our existing model as there -- at this time we are still utilizing the same referral plan as usual. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, you know, I know that the -- like I mentioned in the House, like I mentioned to the Member, mentioned to you, Mr. Speaker, is that the list is monitored. The questions that I have asked have come from questions that the Member has raised. You know, if there's more detailed information that the Member would like, you know, I would like to -- I would work with the Member to get that information and be able to provide the accurate information and the clear direction on how we communicate that to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time within the Department of Health and Social Services -- like, within my department, we are, as I mentioned, connecting with the Alberta health department on the proposed policies that Alberta has made. We will continue to keep those discussions ongoing to see if there is any changes and if there are changes that are going to impact the residents of the Northwest Territories, then we -- like I said, we will have other options for those members to be able to access the care that they need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. An advisory committee has been established with the pharmacists appointed by the NWT Pharmaceutical Association to collaborate with the department officials. The advisory committee operates under clear terms of reference and reviews and advises on issues identified during the development and drafting instructions and regulations under the Health and Social Services Profession Act.

To date, this group has convened ten times to address this mandate. As well as through the work of bringing more professionals under the Health and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, this is not taking away benefits from anybody who was previously covered. In the previous policy, it was outdated and there were it was put in place where specific diseases and you had to have a specific disease to fall to be able to qualify for the program. Within that program, there was no like, it just it was a blanket so we didn't you know, and so this time what it's doing is people who are applying are going to be you know, if they make above the threshold, there's and that was part of the standing committee, that there's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for the Member for being able to have this conversation. And I was. I was a Member of the Standing Committee on Social Development, and we did make we did have lots of consultations on this. And what we we did reduce the costs. Like, with the changes that we've put in place, there are members of the residents of the Northwest Territories that had no access to any benefits will now be able to fall under the extended health benefits policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I mean, I can we have health centres. We have staff within those health centres. We have community health representatives in the communities. There are we provide information. We work with in collaboration with Indigenous governments. You know, there's wellness departments in some communities. You know, there's mental health and addictions programs in all of the communities. I'm not clear on what the Member is asking. So I mean, if there's more detail that the Member can provide for me as to which areas that she's looking into, I'd be willing to provide...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the scope of practice being considered is in line with the scope of other jurisdictions. The work will hopefully align the Northwest Territories with best practice and establish standards with the rest of Canada provides practitioners and patients and an understanding of what's required and expected of professionals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories continues to work to address the national shortage of health care professionals that has led to service reductions and system impacts not only in the NWT but across the country. Postpandemic, this shortage has only intensified, with many health professionals resigning, retiring, or reducing their working hours.

The results of our internal staff surveys and feedback sessions indicate that employee recruitment and retention challenges persist within our system. To address this shortage and its impact on our staff, we have increased our...