Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to briefly talk about Treaty 8 that was signed on July 25th, 1900. Part of that includes health. And the NWT Metis Nation also does have an agreement with the GNWT for health benefits. But I want to talk about just briefly what NIHB stands for: Non-insured health benefits for First Nations and Inuit.
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of health on the emergency supports. In case of serious medical emergencies, when patients require family escort but NIHB approvals are delayed, particularly on weekends, my question is, I'm not sure how long this agreement's been in place but why has the Minister not established a contingency emergency fund to cover off escorts' flights and accommodations on the interim so families are not left out without support or stranded on the streets? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are currently working with NIHB to establish -- to try and come up with what they're criteria that they're using; however, those conversations are ongoing. When there is a medivac, this is where it becomes complicated because if it was a non -- when it's a scheduled appointment within non-insured health benefits, we also have our medical travel benefits that are for scheduled travel. So we are able to, you know, look at those within both of the rules under that and approve and use our exception area. When it becomes a medivac, this is where the GNWT does not have a policy that covers escorts under that. So it's usually NIHB clients that can put in for an escort through that process, but NIHB is the approver of those exceptions. They will not delegate. They have not delegated. In all the years that we've administered that program, they will and they have not up until this time. We are currently in conversations with them right now to be able to do that; however, you know, when there is these circumstances in place, we try our best to reach out and sometimes, you know, if we're able to we can get a hold of somebody. Other than that, you know, it ends up -- we're at the mercy of them to do the approval. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And when the treaty was signed, it talks about as long as the sun shines, river flows, and grass grows, the spirit and intent of the treaty is live and well. And it was done with the Crown. But, Mr. Speaker, right now, the policy of this government is overriding our treaties. So my question is if the Minister is unable to develop policies that uphold treaty rights and prioritize the health and well-being of Indigenous people, why should Indigenous governments trust the Minister and her government to administer NIHB on their behalf? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, medical travel is probably my top priority. What I've spent two years working on so far is the majority of the time is meeting with Indigenous communities, hearing from Indigenous leaders at the Council of Leaders, travelling with Indigenous leaders to Ottawa to explain the needs of the residents in the Northwest Territories. Many of the issues that rely around what we hear comes to the escort piece. When it comes to Indigenous people needing access, that access is always there for them. There is no limitations on them getting insured services through it. It's when we have to fall to the NIHB policy. GNWT only administers their policy, has to follow their rules. Those funding pots that come from them is how we administer that. In other jurisdictions in Canada, the governments don't run those. They go directly. And so what it is usually in provinces that have road systems, which we don't and we understand that, so that's why it's important to us to administer this so that it's not on the backs of the residents when they're actually needing any travel. They have to pay for it upfront and then submit reimbursement. So we in the GNWT have been administering so we can cover those costs, but we have to make sure that we follow within the boundaries that we're given so that we can get the approvals to pay for those. Right now, as released today, you know, we spend $80 million in this government on medical travel last year. $80 million. 36 percent increase last year on escorts alone. So those are some of our most recent numbers that are -- we are doing these things, but we just have to make sure that we are within what we can spend. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, the policies of government, and especially in health, are continuing to override our treaties. My question to the Minister is -- and I never heard an answer from her on this -- is that since we are delivering NIHB program from the federal Government of Canada, we still have people falling through the cracks in the system and that could be left on the streets. My question to you is can we or can this government commit to creating a contingency fund in the event of an emergency so we don't leave our people on the streets. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the medical travel policy, no person should be left on the streets; however, the process is that when people travel, there is an approval process. So if they're travelling out for medical, they need to be referred through medical process and that needs to be approved through medical travel before they travel. When escorts travel, you know, sometimes, yes, it's last minute, but if they're not approved then it may not meet the criteria. And so how we come up with that criteria is what we're trying to look at. We're almost in completion of phase one of our medical travel modernization. We will be switching in to phase 2 which will take a look into all of those other pieces where there's escorts like, with small communities coming in for, you know, when it's escorts that are part of medical travel, med response, like air ambulance. Those are all lists of things that have been brought to my office, that have been brought to the Office of Client Experience, and those are partly going to make up what we do when we analyze and cost analyze. And through that process, we will come back to committee when we have that information, we'll come back through our Cabinet process, our FMB process, to see what those costs are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
