Thank you, Madam Chairperson. With the main estimates that are before the committee today, we have an operations and maintenance budget that is some $255 million that being used to support the delivery of programs and services to all people in the Northwest Territories. It is a public system that supports a public that has a significant aboriginal component in it. In reflection of that, we bill and obtain revenue from the federal government for some small fractions. We bill them for hospital care for status Indians and Inuit that is some $29 million. We bill for general medical care for status Indians and Inuit, some $8 million. We have a very, very defined billing process that is audited annually that provides for a process to delineate the costs of hospital and essentially, physician care for status Indians and Inuit. In the course of discussions in the Beaufort Delta, we have shared on an ongoing basis information around the amount of money that is available for the overall system in the Beaufort Delta. Discussions, as I understand it to date in that whole area, have been in regard to the operation of a public system and the information has been shared continuously. There has been no effort to date to try to cost a parallel system for aboriginal people in the Beaufort Delta. I am not sure that the department is able to undertake the costing and the design of a system to run two parallel health care systems in the Beaufort Delta, Madam Chairperson.
Mr. Ramsden on Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
In the Legislative Assembly on February 24th, 1998. See this statement in context.
Committee Motion 21-13(5): To Establish Guidelines And Standards For The Operation Of All NWT Health Boards
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
February 24th, 1998
Page 1074
Ramsden
See context to find out what was said next.