Mr. Nitah, order, please. Mr. Nitah, I just want to remind you that you cannot ask a question like that. Could you ask a question of the Minister which is in her realm? Mr. Nitah, your question.

Mr. Nitah, your question must be on health care, health questions, to the Minister of Health. Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for...Mr. Nitah, you have your hand up? Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. I will direct the question to the Deputy Premier. The honourable Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Health, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will work with my Cabinet colleagues, including the Premier, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Antoine, to alert them to any signals from the federal government that there would be any decrease in the services provided under the NIHB and would commit to you that we would work together to ensure that these services are protected. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

Thank you, Mr. Nitah. The honourable Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly it is in this government's interest to ensure that the services provided to northern residents through the NIHB continue at the same level that they have been. I have been attempting to get together with Chief Bill Erasmus from the Dene Nation, but during session we have been busy and it has not been possible to get together. I know from communications from him and he knows from communications from me that we need to get together. We want to talk about this particular subject. So yes, I want to assure the Member that we are doing everything we can.

As for the erosion and changes, under the actual part that the territorial government administers, we feel we have made significant progress recently after the threat of returning this to the federal government. We have made significant progress in dealing with disputed claims and the required administrative support in order to continue delivering this service. I think that is very good news. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Madam Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now, the dentists themselves are the direct service providers. I will undertake to communicate with the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Dental Associations and see if there is a role that our government could play as an administrator/overseer of these program dollars that might make it easier for them. Certainly if the dentists are not being compensated on par with their other colleagues, it can make it very difficult for us to recruit and retain dentists to continue working in private practice in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is that I think that there should not be a discrepancy, for example, between what dentists in the Yukon are paid on their fee schedule for services provided to status Indians and Inuit people under the non-insured health benefits. I do not believe it should be a lower fee schedule for the residents of the Northwest Territories. What that does is discourage dentists in private practice in the Northwest Territories from providing those services because it is on a capped and limited fee schedule, which is significantly lower than what they would charge if somebody was just coming in from the public. There is just no reasonable explanation for me why they would be on a lower fee schedule in the Yukon. It is the same challenge, the same issues. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Presently, the funding that is allocated is insufficient. It is not meeting the needs of the client, who is the individual who needs the dental work and needs the eyeglasses. Would the Minister allow for this government to pay the full cost associated with those needs?

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

Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is the federal government that has the responsibility under arrangements they have made for the provision of these services. It is not so much entirely just the level of funding that is provided under the fee schedule, but it is also -- and someone alluded to it today in the House -- the process which is required, the permissions that are sought in advance. When dentists travel to remote communities and someone needs work done and they need to seek prior authorization from the federal government, from Health Canada to do the work, sometimes the time delay and the paper shuffle when they are dealing with something that might be an emergency situation, the situation could deteriorate to the point where the dental health of the patient has been jeopardized. It is issues like that. It is not just the level of funding, but it is also the process associated with getting the services. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.