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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am aware that Hay River has a palliative care unit. I am aware that Stanton does. I do not know about Inuvik.

The Member is correct in saying that we have an aging population. By the year 2018, it is expected the number of seniors in the Northwest Territories will have grown by 135 percent. People are staying in the North.

There is a vast difference between having palliative care units as opposed to palliative care health services. Palliative care health services are ones that administer care to persons that are in the last stages of their life. This is a field of medicine that is constantly changing. Perhaps through the local physicians and specialists pool out of Alberta, in-service teaching and training could be provided to resident Northern doctors. I think that about every six months there are new medications and new strategies for caring for people who are in the last stages of their life.

I think that this is an area where there is a gap in medical services in the Northwest Territories. I have had it raised to me several times by Northerners who have gone through the process of having a loved one who has passed on in the care of hospitals here in the North. Their main concern was making sure they were not in extreme pain. I think that is where the specialty is required. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, could the Minister inform the House whether there is money specifically provided to boards for palliative care?

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the case of Education, Culture and Employment, there is a program that provides fiscal resources to education boards depending on the number of special needs students that it has. Could the Minister tell the House whether there are similar programs offered by the Department of Health and Social Services to boards who have palliative care patients?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the funding that is provided to health boards for acute hospital care would be general. It would not have any specific areas identified for palliative care. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if the Minister could inform the House if she is aware of how many doctors and nurses we have in the Northwest Territories that have formal training in palliative care?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of any resident specialists who are training specifically in the area of palliative care that are in the Northwest Territories at this time. I could make inquires of the boards to find out if there are any physicians in the North who have any special accreditation in that area, and provide that information to the Member.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the Members for all of these questions today. I think I now exceed Mr. Ootes in terms of popularity. Thank you.

-- Laughter

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. It is not over yet. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.