Thank you. Minister. I'll go back to the deputy minister, please.

Yeah, okay, no, thanks for that information. I think given what we heard from the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment on the changes to income assistance, I think we're probably going to see more demand for that service because people will need to have some proof that they have a disability. So are we prepared to handle more demand for that service over the next while? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Deputy minister Cecchetto.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to ask the deputy minister to respond.

Thank you. Minister.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I'm just wondering where we're at with adult FASD services? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Are there any other Members that haven't spoken to the health and social programs? Member for Frame Lake.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you for the question. So the following areas are being reviewed right now. Medical travel, escort criteria, and that's one where I get a lot of questions. The exceptions policy which is where the policy can be varied to include people who don't fit into the other criteria. We are reviewing the per diem rates for people who aren't staying at the boarding facility. So right now the accommodation per diem is $50, which is obviously not adequate for a hotel. We also want to establish a long-term medical travel policy. This is for people, for example, who are receiving cancer treatment or rheumatology services or anything else which occurs regularly. There are a couple of other ones as well. Establishing an air ambulance policy for emergency medical transportation and establishing a formal nearest centre policy, which right now is not written down.

So I understand what the Member is saying. There is really a two tier system. There are the GNWT and the Government of Canada benefits, which are more generous than the NIHB benefits. That is a fact. At this point, we subsidize NIHB to the tune of $17 million a year for medical travel and we want to bring that situation to an end. It's money that we can't afford to spend, and it is money that should be spent by the federal government. So there are negotiations ongoing now because that agreement ends at the end of this month. And we partnered with Nunavut to negotiate with the federal government to pay the real cost of medical travel so that we no longer subsidize it. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Minister, for that clarification. But we got 33 communities in the Northwest Territories, and we don't have a lot of government jobs in our communities. So, you know, I'm -- so it makes it really tough for constituent members in our communities that really need the care and services of the healthcare card that we have. But I just wanted to maybe let the Minister know that if -- I think -- you know, if there's a way we could take a look at the medical travel policy and maybe have a thorough review of this policy so that -- I know it's a tough job that you have. I know that, you know, you got to follow these policies. But sometimes in special circumstances, I mean, you probably use your discretion and that kind of thing, but at the end, you know, we hear all these stories up and down the valley and it's really frustrating, you know. But, again, you have a tough job. You know, but at the same time, if there's a way we could probably maybe even -- you know, work together and try to improve this policy. And, you know, nine times out of ten too it's all about funding. You know, how is this funded. You know, we probably don't even get enough money from Ottawa on this kind of stuff too as well. So, anyway, I just wanted to -- maybe the Minister could maybe just elaborate a little bit maybe about some ideas about how we can improve this medical travel policy. Mahsi.

Thank you. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I think the Member is talking about employer benefits. So the Government of Canada would have employer benefits for its staff. The GNWT has employer benefits for its staff. NIHB provides benefits to Indigenous people who are First Nations and Inuit. Metis health benefits are specifically for Metis beneficiaries. And then the rest of the population are just covered -- either covered by the basic hospital and physician services, which are provided free of charge to everyone or, in some cases, they don't have benefits at all. We know that there are at least 2,300 people in the Northwest Territories who don't have any form of employer benefit, and so they have no drug coverage, no vision, no dental, no medical appliances, nothing. So these employer benefits do vary according to who is providing them. And some are certainly more -- what could I say? More generous than others. And so if you compared GNWT benefits to NIHB benefits, certainly it would be better if you had GNWT benefits. But as I say, those are -- those relate to your employment. So the only way to access GNWT benefits is to work for the GNWT. Thank you.