Mr. Speaker, I'm not too clear to whom this message was conveyed.

Mrs. Marie-Jewell, would you care to clarify?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Maybe what I should have done was ask the Minister if he would agree to table the fax that he referred to in the answer to my question. Thank you.

Mr. Allooloo.

Mr. Speaker, yes, I will provide the information as soon as I can.

Supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to that particular topic, I'd like to ask the Minister of MACA since the Minister of MACA had requested the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs sign this particular letter which was to relay the information, did the Minister of MACA appoint the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs as acting Minister of MACA on his behalf?

Mr. Allooloo.

Mr. Speaker, no. As I explained earlier, from time to time important documents have to be signed by a Minister. If the Minister responsible for that particular department is not in town, then another Minister of this government can sign such documents. Thank you.

Item 5, oral questions. I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome a former colleague, in the gallery, Mr. Bruce McLaughlin, former MLA.

---Applause

Item 5, oral questions. Point of privilege, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Point Of Privilege

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to make a point of privilege not to mislead the House, but on November 10 -- and my apologies -- we were in the Standing Committee on Agencies, Boards and Commissions as opposed to the Standing Committee on Finance. Thank you. Although, Mr. Patterson, I believe, was available.

Thank you. That is really not a point of privilege. It is a point of clarification but we have no such rule in our House. I have Mr. Whitford next. Item 5, oral questions.

Mr. Allooloo.

Mr. Speaker, the new restriction of firing a firearm on Ingraham Trail applies not only to harvesting of wildlife, it's a firearm dischargement. Nobody in that area is allowed to discharge a firearm in the corridor which is 1.5 kilometres from the road, either side. It's a year round ban, whether it's for hunting or it's for discharging a firearm for other purposes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The time for Oral Questions has elapsed. Item 6, written questions. We'll take a short recess.

---SHORT RECESS

Item 8, replies to opening address. Item 9, petitions. Item 10, reports of standing and special committees. Mr. Dent.

Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Health and social services are also being studied and reformed by governments in Canada and elsewhere. People are questioning the role of these services, how they should be provided and how they should be paid for.

A number of provinces have introduced extensive cost-reduction programs in this area during the past year. These steps have been taken in order to bring public spending more in line with the financial limitation facing governments at all levels.

These measures include the renegotiation of agreements between governments and doctors, budget cutbacks, the closing of hospitals and the full scale review of provincial health care and social welfare systems.

These and other actions are relevant to the study of our own health and social services. They reflect a number of general trends which cannot be ignored and which are already having an impact within the Northwest Territories.

Governments everywhere are trying to live more within their means. Health and social services are among the most expensive areas of government activity. The cost of providing these programs in the Northwest Territories is also increasing. This is caused by such factors as increased demands on the system by northerners, plus the high northern cost of operating medical facilities, social assistance, transportation systems and high technology equipment.

In general, people are living longer and are placing more demands on health and social services. The population of the Northwest Territories is no different. It is growing in size. It is getting younger, with about half of our residents under the age of 18 years. At the same time, people are trying to cope with a number of relatively recent health problems such as cancer, AIDS, diabetes, tooth decay and the effects of tobacco.

It is widely accepted that promoting physical and mental wellness and preventing disease are cost-effective approaches. This is reflected in the healthy public policy and healthy cities projects under way across Canada. Across the Northwest Territories, people are recognizing this trend and seeking to incorporate prevention into many health and social programs.

Governments everywhere are looking for ways to reduce the use of costly and often distant hospitals and other treatment facilities. In the Northwest Territories, people are looking to community and home-based programs as one way of providing more effective, flexible, and less expensive care.

People across Canada are requesting greater local involvement in the planning and delivery of health and social service programs. Residents of the Northwest Territories are no different. They want to make a slow to respond bureaucratic system more responsive to local needs. Here, as elsewhere, the future lies in developing new partnerships between individuals, communities and governments. When people achieve a greater role in shaping these partnerships, they will be in a position to develop more community-based solutions.

We began our review process, Mr. Speaker, with these national and global trends in health care delivery in mind.

Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the title of our report, "Talking and Working Together," we believe that the best way to determine the effectiveness of our health and social services is to talk directly with the people who receive and deliver these programs. We decided to do just that through open and extensive consultations with the public and with front line workers across the Northwest Territories. As part of that process, we visited at least one community in each constituency. Meetings and workshops were held with more than 200 organizations. Public meetings were convened in 21 communities where we received more than 250 presentations. An opinion survey of 280 front line workers was conducted. Four interim reports were submitted to the Legislative Assembly. As well, a public information program was conducted to inform and involve people in our review.

These activities were designed to encourage as much discussion and information sharing as possible. Our approach to community visits reflected this commitment. We made sure we were able to spend as much time as possible in each community.

Our community visits often lasted two and even three days. We would split up into smaller groups so that we could meet with anyone who wanted to express their views. We tried to hear as many points of view as we could.

Mr. Speaker, we received an overwhelming response. People were pleased they were being consulted. They appreciated being made to feel a part of the process. They participated in our activities in great numbers. Workshops and public meetings were extremely well-attended in every region.

What we heard was both encouraging and disturbing. The people we met still had faith that their government has the ability to address the issues they raised with us. However, this faith is not endless. People across the north clearly expect the government to act on the results of our review, but they expressed scepticism about whether such action can or will be taken.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask my colleague, the honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Patterson, to continue with the report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Marie-Jewell. Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, based on these and other activities, we developed a number of recommendations for reform. We have put forward proposals that are realistic and affordable. In some cases, additional resources will be required. However, we are confident that this will result in long-term savings.

Our goal was not to make the system larger or smaller, but to make it work better.

Our recommendations outline specific actions we believe the government should take as quickly as possible, where results can generally be measured in a period of time. Mr. Speaker, the recommendations in the narrative section of the report provide a road map to guide the process of setting policy and procedures over the longer term.

It is impossible to fully examine either health or social services without considering both. As a result, we do not try to maintain an artificial distinction between the two.

In general, we heard that many people feel detached and distant from their own health and social services. They have little sense of ownership or involvement in the system. It is seen as slow, complex, confusing and unresponsive to the needs of the community. As a result, many people told us that the current system does not meet their requirements.

This poor general impression stems in part from the belief that the system and its front line workers do not fully reflect the culture, traditions and healing practices of our communities. We even heard of people who are afraid to seek assistance because the system does not make sense to them.

Another general problem identified during our consultations was the lack of cooperation and coordination between government departments. A number of departments are involved in planning and providing our health and social services. They do not seem to talk to one another as often as they should. Too often we heard that information is kept within a department instead of being shared with appropriate personnel in other agencies who might be able to help in finding solutions for clients and their families.

Mr. Speaker, people were also concerned that the conventional approach to public education programs was not working. We heard over and over again that more discussion was required on a range of issues that affect our quality of life.

People told us that one way to address a number of their general concerns would be to increase local control over the planning and delivery of health and social services in their own communities. The current system is viewed as insensitive to unique local conditions, resources and requirements. We heard that greater local authority in these areas could result in better programs, run more efficiently and in an improved quality of life.

An independent review we conducted into the effects of local control over these services seems to reach the same conclusions. This review concludes that the benefits of local control include greater sensitivity to community needs, the involvement of people in shaping their own solutions, less reliance on outside agencies, increased effectiveness and greater public awareness of these issues.

We heard that the system should also shift its focus from institutional care towards community and especially home-based programs and services. People believe that this shift should also place less emphasis on the treatment of problems and more on the prevention of such problems in the first place.

transportation. Some people felt strongly that the confidentiality of their health and social service records must be maintained.

People we spoke with believe that those who commit abuse should not be treated better than their victims. There is a clear perception that victims are often placed at a disadvantage through no fault of their own. They usually have to leave the home, face a delay in qualifying for future housing and cope with delays inherent in the justice system. Quite simply, people want offenders to suffer more of the consequences of their actions. At the same time, they want victims to be helped to stay in their own homes and to rebuild their lives in their own communities.

We also heard a number of concerns about the workings of the social assistance program and the inadequacy of current income support benefits. We were told that these payments do not reflect the high cost of living in the north or the fact that these costs vary greatly between communities.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to ask my colleague, the honourable Member for Yellowknife Frame Lake, Mr. Charles Dent, to continue with the report. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Patterson. Mr. Dent.