Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the social envelope of the Northwest Territories is high, as alluded to by my colleague, Mr. Krutko, about the problems facing that particular department. Today, I would like to speak about the Northern Health Benefits Program and how it is supposed to cover benefits and services for First Nations and Inuit people. That includes prescription drugs, dental, medical transportation and other benefits, Mr. Speaker.
The federal government administers this program through Health Canada. All of the First Nations in the south are taking on some responsibilities for it. However, in the Northwest Territories, Health Canada is still doing the paperwork. What upsets me, Mr. Speaker, is that while our people are supposed to have their costs covered, there are problems in many cases.
For example, predetermination has to be done on dental work over a certain cost. That involves a lot of red tape and unnecessary time lags. It also can result in dental work being denied, or only partially paid for. If someone has a tooth missing, they might be told to take a lower-costing service than what they want, even though the more expensive treatment might be to their own health benefit in the long run. To me, this is substandard service, Mr. Speaker.
The Auditor General Report for the Year 2000 on First Nations Health stated that Health Canada delivers health services for more than 600 First Nation communities. The Health Canada branch has just under 1,400 full-time person years. One would think that with all that staff, service would be more expedient. There are seven regional offices across southern Canada, Mr. Speaker.
Why is there not a regional office located in the Northwest Territories, where a great deal of the population is aboriginal? In their report, Health Canada stated it was committed to continuos improvement in the effectiveness and the efficiency of health programs. Maybe it is time to start looking at areas of improvement for the North, Mr. Speaker, by either devolving the functions to First Nations or by setting up a branch office in the North that people can access.
With that, I will have some questions for the Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and happy birthday.
-- Applause