Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Member is referring to specific case where I believe he is saying that a doctor's referral was overruled by a health board, I would have to know the specifics of that case. It is difficult to respond to something as specific as that.

I know that health boards are charged with the responsibility for implementing the policy and ensuring that their medical travel costs do not get out of control. That is part of their responsibility. I would have to have more detail from the Member as to the specific case in order to respond to it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find it pretty surprising that the Minister is not aware of the case. I hand-delivered the letter directly to her office. It has to do with Roxanne John of Aklavik. The Minister does have a copy of the letter and also the copy from the regional office.

Again, I would like to ask the Minister a question on medical travel. In most cases, we find that with medical travel, you get the people from the regional office escorting individuals, rather than having people from the communities. A lot of times they will get the nurse to escort these individuals, which is a cost to this government.

Through the policy, is there any reference on exactly who can escort individuals, if it is not the individual's family member?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Krutko has drawn this particular case to my attention in the past. I do not have the specifics of it in front of me, which is why I cannot refer to exactly what happened. I did read the letter from the doctor and it was somewhat subject to interpretation as well. It was not that specific. It is difficult to discuss individual patients by name in the House. Mr. Speaker, if the Member did not receive a response to this particular issue, we will certainly be happy to provide that to him.

As far as who is qualified to travel as a non-medical escort, it would appear that family members do qualify to serve as non-medical transport escorts. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister what exactly is the government policy for medical travel? Is there any reference on how you deal with people that might misuse the travel, where individuals who are named as an escort travels with the patient and does not assist that individual? For example, making sure that their needs are met in the hospital or even making an attempt to visit them while they are in the hospital. Instead, it becomes a free trip to go on a shopping spree. Some people find they go to a major city and the patient does not see these individuals after they are dropped off at the hospital. Is there anything in the policy that makes sure that is being monitored? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe the medical travel policy includes exactly what the responsibilities of a non-medical escort would be once the patient has arrived at a destination and has been admitted to the hospital. I do not believe the policy is that specific. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is clear to me that mental health workers are the forgotten health care workers in the Northwest Territories. Proper mental health can be just as important to a community's well-being as taking care of the community's physical health.

Indeed, there is a greater and greater body of knowledge, Mr. Speaker, that tells us that a growing number of reasons for in-patient hospital admissions is those who have mental disabilities and mental disorders. In our correctional institutions, the impacts of stress and poor living standards is culminating in mental disorders that are crowding those facilities. Can the Minister tell the House whether there is a full complement of mental health workers in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I am not able to tell the Member whether there is a full complement. I am not sure which communities have mental health workers in them. I did have the opportunity to meet with all of the CEOs of the various boards when I first took over this portfolio. Certainly around the table that was a common theme we heard, that there are emerging and increasing numbers of cases of mental health workers, particularly among children and youth.

There is a tremendous demand in the communities. As to which communities have these workers at the present time, I do not have that information available. But I would be pleased to get that information for the Member. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct that there was an initial survey conducted of needs assessment of persons with disabilities in the Northwest Territories. When it was pointed out that persons with mental health problems were not surveyed under the definition of a disability, a phase two needs assessment of persons with disabilities-mental health was undertaken. The department made a commitment to develop a second phase to the needs assessment to capture mental health information.

Consumer groups and non-government organizations expressed concern about the omission of psychiatric and mental health needs in the first phase of the survey, but a mental health needs assessment working group has been meeting since December 1999 to discuss the scope and methodology of this project. This will be launched soon, and this information will be compiled and analyzed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister more about this phase two needs assessment. I am pleased the department has recognized that this needs to be done. My question is how inclusive is this survey, Mr. Speaker, of non-government organizations? There a large number of very well qualified and well skilled community and non-government organizations to help with this survey. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the working group that has been established includes representatives from Health and Social Services, the Northwest Territories Council for Disabled Persons, the Canadian Mental Health Association - Northwest Territories Division, Mental Health Consumer, Stanton Regional Hospital, Mental Health Clinic and Psychiatry Unit, Aurora College, the Independent Club House, the Yellowknife Women's Centre, and the Northwest Territories Family Services. That is the list of government and non-government agencies that are included in this working group. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, full marks to the department for including a very broad swath of community in it. I would like to ask, is the survey going to be one that goes across all ages, especially into the schools and the very young people? As we are learning more and more, early childhood development is an area where we can make a great impact, and do it very efficiently.

Is it going into the youth and young people as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.